About Me

Welcome – I’m Kristine and I am glad you are here! This blog is my platform for sharing my thoughts and ideas about organizing, decorating, and creating a home that is a peaceful haven -warm, inviting, comfortable. My hope is that you find some ideas, inspiration, or just enough of a new perspective to trigger your own imagination and creativity.

We want our homes to be visually and kinetically warm, welcoming, cozy, unpretentious, and genuine.  My goal here at Red Shutter Cottage is to provide you with tools and ideas on how to create that environment in your home.

So many times we see a photo, a friend’s home, or a blog that shows a beautiful seasonal display, or a well-put-together room, but we have no idea how to do it for ourselves. Or perhaps you do have a clear sense of your own style and taste but are always on the look-out for a different approach or new inspiration.

Between magazines, Pinterest and blogland, there is no shortage of beautiful images of coffee tables, mantels or dining tables, but you are often left wondering how to do that yourself. I write tutorials to help you create that for yourself.  The emphasis is on using items you already own, love and use daily, and incorporating or pairing them with seasonal, or specialty items.  As a result, your home is decorated in a manner that clearly reflects your own sense of style, beauty, and comfort.  You will find tutorials to walk you through how to build a vignette, decorate a mantel, or create a seasonal dining table.  I also include posts about organizing and steps that I take in my kitchen to that really help with making cooking easier and more efficient.

You don’t necessarily need to buy new things. You can use what you already have, or search for missing pieces in thrift shops, consignment stores, or garage sales.   My hope is to help you develop your own eye, and your own sense of what is warm and comfortable and speaks to you.

I would be honored if you would subscribe to receive updates on posts that speak directly to helping you create a home that is in harmony with both you, and your family.

….more about me …..

Seasons are important to me, and I love change in my surroundings. I rotate my home 4 times per year. I decorate for Fall/Harvest (which covers both Halloween and Thanksgiving), Christmas, early Winter (which starts just after Christmas), and Spring/Summer (because in Southern California, they are essentially the same).

I live in Southern California with my husband, Sailor, and our three cats. We live in a red shutter cottage that is cozy and inviting. By day I work for a marketing company. I love rainy days, Open Houses, Girl Scout do-si-do cookies, and a good book. I play Bridge twice a month, try to exercise as much as I can, and make a mean chicken tortilla soup.