~C & R interview and giveaway!~

Good morning bloggy friends!

it's time for the long awaited interview

with Christina Strutt

Founder, Cabbages and Roses

to celebrate her brand new book coming out

this month

"At Home With Country"

and to go along with this fun

interview.....

we have a giveaway!

there are

4 ways to enter....

follow

comment

blog about

grab a button (top right on page)

be sure to leave a separate comment

for each!

The winner will be selected randomly

on Wednesday morning April 14th!

so on to my interview....

{part I today & part II tomorrow!}

but before the interview I have to say....

Christina is so charming & adorable! 

She was just as kind as can be & a real joy to

work with!

Ticking & Toile: The Cabbages & Roses style is so charming and certainly lends itself to a cottage in the English countryside; but so many of us are living in  suburban type cookie-cutter houses...that rather lack charm...what advice could you give us to bring the C & R style and charm into our homes? 

Christina: I have to say I love American cookie cutter houses~ They are so much mor charming than English suburbia!  I would immediately fill the house with Cabbages & Roses fabrics and where possible wallpaper ....which we are...as I write... designing, and will hopefully be available soon.  Generous and beautifully made curtains always make a huge difference to a room.  Colour~and being brave with it~ but using coordinating tones is always a good start.  I have always said that if you fill your home with things you love, it will always work.  I don't believe in judging what is good taste or bad taste but I do judge lack of taste in a safe beige/plain curtain/matching plain beige sofa kind of way.

In our latest book we show how Cabbages & Roses fits into all situations, a city apartment, a tent in the countryside, a modern boat on the river...the C & R style is so gentle and adaptable it really does fit in anywhere!

T & T: In redecorating a home ~ where is the 1st place you would start?  And what changes would you recommend that can be made immediately to have the largest impact?

Christina: I would always start with the curtain fabric and then work your way around your house~ the fabric pattern will dictate the colours you should use~  i.e. paint colours, wallpaper, sofa covers, cushions, etc...The curtains will be the biggest expense so it is the best place to start.

T & T: What advice would you give to women who love the C & R style but are married to men who would rather have their trophy elk head mounted on the wall? (I loved her answer!!)

Christina: ooh, I would love a trophy elk head mounted on the wall!! (did you hear that girls??) In fact, we have deer antlers mounted on the wall over the fireplace in our Chelsea shop! (shown below)

Christina: (cont) My advice to the elk wives is to very quietly and with minimum of fuss, transform your room in an afternoon when the husband is out hunting elk!  Make sure everything is ready to be hung, covered, re-arranged etc, before he comes home.  The excitement of the hunt and his tales of bravery in pursuit will distract him so I bet your bottom dollar that he won't notice a thing! If he does notice then he will be a sensitive soul and will probably be very grateful and delighted that you didn't ask him to move furniture!

T & T:  Wood floors are so beautiful, and painted floors are just gorgeous and seem to be very popular in the UK...so many of us love that look but wonder how to achieve it...have you found painted wood floors to be as practical to live with as they are beautiful?  And what type of paint have you used and/ or could you recommend?

Christina: There are proprietory floor paints that wear well, but if a little wear and tear do occur I think it adds character and many people spend hours trying to achieve a worn in look.  So let it happen naturally.  Painted floors are easy to keep clean and easy to repaint.

T & T: Speaking of paint, what is your favorite paint color for walls and why?

Christina:  We are lucky enough to have Farrow and Ball paints available over here~ though I am sure you can obtain them in the USA.  They have a beautiful selection, some based on original Georgian colors.  They have an earthy, chalky quality.  My favourites at the moment are french greay, old white, and strong white.  These colours go particularly well with our fabrics and are interesting without being overpowering and gentle without being beige.

T & T: Where would you recommend our readers find furniture for their homes?  Do you purchase strictly antique / vintage pieces or do you prefer some new pieces?

Christina: I always prefer antique and vintage pieces not only because I believe in recycling and that there is enough to go round without having to produce more and more 'stuff' but also because things with age have more character and are more often than not unique.  In England we have many antique fairs and car boot sales and I expect you have them over there too.  Also junk shops are a very good source of furniture- but you need patience and a good eye.  Often there are heavy, dark piecs of furniture which can be transformed with a coat of paint.

T & T:  In your opinion what is the most important part of making a house feel like a home?

Christina: The most important thing is to fill it with people and things you love.  The more of both the merrier.  Also food and flowers in the summer, roaring log fires in the winter.

There you go.....that's part I of my conversation

with Christina Strutt, founder of Cabbages & Roses!

I certainly could not have predicted her answers!

I especially love what she said about the

antlers!!  Boy was I ever surprised with

the pictures she sent of her Chelsea shop w/

the antlers!!  :)

....tomorrow I will post part II of my interview,

which includes Christina's housekeeping routine, where she looks for inspiration, and on following your life's passion!

Have a fabulous day friends

&

be sure to enter to win!

xoxo,

Shellagh

{all photos are from the Cabbages and Roses website, with the exception of photo # 3 which by Edina van der Wyck, and from the book

"At home with Country"  Christina Strutt, CICI books $29.95 http://www.cicobooks.com/