Today's Cottage Retreats

Resort cottages can be any shape or style—from big and bold to small and quaint.

REVIEWED BY BARBARA BALLINGER

Cottages: The New Style By James Grayson Trulove (Harper Design International, 2004)

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Unlike the grand “cottages” built by rich families at the turn-of-the-century in resorts such as the Adirondacks in upper New York State, cottages today can be any shape or style, from large and industrial looking, to very small and quaint. This book showcases 16 different resort cottages in a variety of locales, including mountains, desert, farmland, and ocean. And even though the architecture varies dramatically, the cottages all share in common a love of beautiful natural materials—particularly gleaming woods, big windows that look out on splendid land and views, and some type of outdoor living space that respects its site. One of the most desirable cottages also is among the smallest and simplest: It was designed as a retreat for a filmmaker outside Seattle and juxtaposes soaring glass walls with floor-to-ceiling walls lined with bookshelves, making it a great place to curl up on one of those rainy Seattle days.