This weekend I was reading Paradise Lost by Wendy Dennis in House & Home’s Notes From Home, one of the few shelter magazines that stills devotes precious pages to essays about the meaning of home. The author laments the advent of the McCottage and the loss of the simple ways previous generations have appreciated the beauty of Ontario’s Muskoka region.
In response to her question “Do you like your cottage?” the renter next door replied, “It’s fantastic. It has this unbelievably massive media room downstairs.” That response captures it all…With all the beauty of the surrounding area, rain or shine, why a media room?

I think in the end it’s not the square footage of the summer place but what you do and who you are when you’re there that matters.
Architecture and design can, if we let it, help us truly vacation - leave behind the usual and find the extraordinary of summer time.

What architecture can create this way of being? Here are some pics of my version. (Click here to see a gallery of cottage pics from House & Home)

A gathering place for meals and card games or the 3,000 piece jigsaw puzzle that takes a whole summer to complete.
Everything is simple. (via House Beautiful, photography by Don Freeman)

via Pointclick home, photography by Eric Striffler
via PointClickHome, photography by Mark Lohman

The bedrooms are small and cozy and made even better by oddly angled walls.

above images via House Beautiful, photography by Don Freeman

image via Coastal Living, photography by Jean Allsopp

There a bikes with baskets in the front and a bell on the handlebar.

via Small Place Style

You take the time to wander down paths and up trails.

No matter the view from your cottage window, you spend time just gazing.

You notice little stuff - you open up to less formal ways of doing things.

You choose words like “tinker” instead of “fix.” You sense you have time.

Sandals get left at the edge of the beach. People trust they’ll be there when they return. (Chatham, Cape Cod)

You sit next to people you care about. You make conversation with people walking by.

Wellfleet, Cape Cod

Wellfleet, Cape Cod

You find that TV is a poor substitute for nights spent watching this and then gazing up at the stars. (Stonington, Deer Isle Maine)

And when your summer stay comes to an end, you are all the better for it.

Link to the Source

Wood Chair w/ Round Rattan Wicker Back and Red Cushions US $24.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 16:00:45 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Shabby VINTAGE ROSES CHENILLE WICKER CHAIR CUSHION Chic US $49.95 End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 18:45:43 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

Cabinet Card Photo Bald Girl Child Wicker Chair US $5.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 18:46:15 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Old Vintage Photo UPSET BABY BOY CRYING IN WICKER CHAIR US $5.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jan-09-2009 21:57:43 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Margot Coral Wicker Chair Cushions US $10.00 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 5:37:16 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

Wicker Chair Cushions - Solids - OUTDOOR US $15.00 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 6:52:43 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

Wicker Chair Cushions - Waverly Williamsburg Botanical US $15.00 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 7:08:08 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

1870'S WONDERFUL CHILDS WICKER CHAIR US $195.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 9:04:26 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Fuzzy Dog in Wicker Chair RPPC US $0.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 11:47:22 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

WICKER PATIO CHAIR CUSHION - SEASIDE CARIBBEAN US $24.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 14:42:03 PST Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

Byers Choice Victorian mother w/baby on wicker chair US $26.99 (1 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 16:30:46 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

ALUMINUM Wicker Arm chair green beige restaurant cafe US $79.00 End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 16:44:57 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

Pin Up- Risque- French- Bikini- Wicker Chair- 1950s-60s US $4.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 19:23:49 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

1896 WAKEFIELD CHILDRENS WICKER ROCKING CHAIR-PERFECT US $240.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 19:30:00 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

gorgeous rattan wicker arm chair (s) striped cushions US $100.00 (4 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 19:45:00 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Antique 1960's Mid-Century Modern wicker Barrel Chair US $75.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 20:00:00 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

" Rare" Wicker Moose Wooden Chair US $12.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Jan-10-2009 20:31:18 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

Outdoor Wicker Seagrass Chair w/C. Cabernet Cushions US $599.00 End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 3:53:56 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

SMALL WICKER CHAIR US $9.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 8:13:41 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

2 pc Resin Wicker set 1 chair 1 ottoman FREE S&H US $399.00 End Date: Sunday Jan-11-2009 8:15:01 PST Buy it now | Add to watch list

If you liked this, You might also like:

1. Mini Home Tour: Daisy Cottage
2. I found this cottage lovely, even though I am a mid-century fanatic. It’s got vibrant colors, pretty shapes and wonderful...
3. Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live? Nah, but it’s really funny!
4. Saturday night live is funny again… it’s been a long time in coming, and one seemingly longer campaign to...
5. IKEA Summer 2008 Collection: Up Close
6. Last week, Jonathan from ATLA and I each shared our favorite picks from IKEA’s new summer collection — IKEA...
7. rex chair outdoor living
8. Faux wicker. Fool the elements. Wicked wicker impersonation in handwoven plastic piping with polished aluminum stands up to the...
9. For Next Summer… A Necessary (and Cheap) Purchase: The Outdoor Sectional
10. [caption id="attachment_5716" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Gorgeous Affordable Outdoor Sectional - Comes with a coffee table too! "] Now that my nieces...
11. Joel Grey’s Beach Cottage Retreat The New York Times 5.23.08
12. When he’s not living in his West Village loft, performer and photographer Joel Grey (Cabaret , Wicked , Brothers...
13. Live video in a 3D world is cool, and it’s not even Google
14. It sure looks like Google Earth, but it’s not. A company called Sentinel, funded by the U.S. Defense Department, has...
15. Windows Live teams up with social networks for contact portability
16. Robert Scoble couldn’t do it, but Windows Live can. Microsoft’s Web-app division announced Tuesday that it has partnered with...
17. The DC Design House
18. Designer Michael Roberson, photography by Lee Boden for The Washington Post Designer David Mitchell, photography by Lee Boden for...
19. I want to live here!
20. Fawn Galli has been named one of Domino’s Top 10 Designers and when you see her Brooklyn apartment you...