A cozy quilt of decor tips

For every city slicker tired of the rat race and yearning for the country mouse lifestyle, this recently launched home, garden and entertaining monthly will provide hours of inspiration. Following the time-honored Time Inc. template that made In Style an institution and Real Simple a success, Cottage Living is a warm and cozy patchwork quilt of expert how-to advice.

In the second issue, lavish layouts offer a candy-colored Christmas home in Kansas and a Dallas shack turned chic in neutral French decor. Holiday-themed November-December columns include “Get Comfortable” (a captioned pictorial with a mathematical formula promising that one toile wing chair + one corduroy throw + one cream-colored paint = classic), which proclaims raspberry and juniper “edgy” counterparts to Christmas red and green.

Whether or not you’re up for all this happy homemaking, Cottage Living will satisfy your best nesting instincts. In stark contrast to Martha Stewart Living, this 21st century update of Better Homes and Gardens is conversational and accessible, with a you-can-do-it-too folksiness that is appealing without being too square.

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-- David A. Keeps