TRY AS I MIGHT, and living in the Hamptons as I do, I just can’t seem to aspire to a sprawling house on some acreage, with a swimming pool, behind a hedge. It’s the little cottages I invariably relate to, that make my heart sing (although I would definitely do something about the ivy that’s devouring the one above).
These pictures are of three neighboring houses on the outskirts of East Hampton village, opposite a cornfield. There’s something about them — their un-ostentatiousness, their not-trying-too-hard charm — that make them look, to me, like happy places to live.
French blue window trim, split rail fence…
Wooden pergola, brick walk…
Gravel drive, arbor at the end…
Annuals, grasses, wind chimes, and watering cans…
Leafy driveway receding into private territory…
Blue shutters, hearty hydrangeas…
Keeping it simple.
casaCARA 
These totally rock. Look simple, inviting. Rocket science to put together so it looks that way.