Smart ideas for country cottage design
Our HG101 designers have worked on everything from sprawling townhouses to quaint cottages. Speaking of the latter, while the notion of cottage design ideas often conjures images of a cosy country bolthole with a modest footprint and wonky interiors, our archive conveys just how broad the concept can be.
Several of those cottage projects were designed by our talented listées. Whether it is London-based designer Anna Haines, who having worked often on period properties, keeps decorating sympathetically central to her practice or Emma Ainscough, whose professional ethos hinges on the notion that interiors can truly impact how we feel emotionally, these designers have through their unique approaches to decoration, created dreamy cottages with layered, inviting interiors. Take a look at the gallery below for some inspiration from the best:
Cottage design ideas from our HG101 interior designers
© Rachael Smith Photography Ltd1/12Two 18th-century Norfolk cottages harmonised by Anna Haines
Through colour and carefully chosen antiques and bespoke furniture, Anna Haines helped further harmonise this home in north Norfolk which was created by combining two 18th century cottages into a coherent property. Preserving the historic character of the cottages was of particular importance to Anna, who wanted the difference between the older and newer parts of the property to be visible.
A calming colour palette of blues, greens and yellows across both cottages helped the home to read as one, unified space. In one of the bedrooms upstairs, a headboard has been upholstered in Le Manach’s ‘Indhira’ cotton from Pierre Frey (the latter took over the heritage French fabrics house in 2014). The bedside table is from Chelsea Textiles, while the Rosi de Ruig lamp and lampshade, are showcased by walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Mizzle’.
© Rachael Smith Photography Ltd2/12Crittall doors open onto the main entrance porch, where a built-in seat is softened by a cushion from Kilimshop. Out in the courtyard, the original brick and flint façades of one of the cottages and the outdoor bathroom contrast with painted woodwork Papers and Paints’ serene ‘Mid Egyptian Blue’.
Anna Haines is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. Visit The List by House & Garden here.
Christopher Horwood3/12Emma Ainscough reinvents a 19th century fairytale cottage on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border
Emma Ainscough was given carte blanche to reinvent this late 19th century fairytale cottage on the Viscount and Viscountess of Newport's sprawling 12,000 acre Bradford Estates. It's distinctive colour is a pink limewash is a charming preview to the use of colour within.
Emma designed the whole kitchen and had it made locally in Shropshire. The island, painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Eating Room Red’, has a solid oak top and ironmongery by Mark Lewis. A vintage French pendant light hangs over the sink, where Emma has cleverly placed a tap by Perrin & Rowe against the wall. The striking checkerboard tiles are from Grestec Tiles and the wall units, with their charming curtains, have been painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Yonder.’
Christopher Horwood4/12This twin bedroom is papered in Living Quarters' ‘Creeping Toadflax’ pattern which features a climbing vine and adorable baby snails hidden amongst the leaves and flowers. The woodwork has been painted in Edward Bulmer's ‘Pea Green', in another cue taken from the verdant landscape outside. The beds are antiques as is the dressing table which has been reupholstered in a green stripe from The Cloth Shop.
Owen Gale5/12Benedict Foley and Daniel Slowik's perfectly imperfect cottage in the Dedham Vale
Benedict Foley and Daniel Slowik created a delightful cottage on the border of Suffolk and Essex, infused with their sense of humour and centred around their shared collecting tastes. Many of the pictures in this room, Daniel's bedroom, relate to Venice. The lampshade is from Sibyl Colefax in the fun ‘Squiggle’ pattern. A gallery wall of framed artworks hang on the walls painted in Farrow & Ball's ‘Dix Blue’. A red and white patterned quilt from Alexandra Tolstoy's line ‘The Tolstoy Edit’ covers the bed.
Owen Gale6/12The previous occupants painted this kitchen in its bright yellow and installed cobalt blue kitchen units, a colour scheme Benedict and Daniel decided to keep. Where the paint peeled, they simply glued it back on. An early 19th century Japanese ironstone Imari ashette hangs over the oven near a collection of ceramics that includes pieces by Gavin Houghton.
Simon Upton7/12Flora Soames' former gamekeeper's cottage in the west country
Flora Soames actually designed her first fabric collection here thanks to the peace and tranquility at her early 19th-century cottage which is surrounded by woodland. One can see her love of pattern expressed throughout the house. The antique table was bought from the Instagram dealer Tradchap. The chairs, which are also antiques, are upholstered in B Berger’s ‘1158’ fabric in ‘Sangria’.
Simon Upton8/12The ‘Fleurs de Mai’ wallpaper in Flora's bedroom is from Pierre Frey and takes its inspiration from 18th century provençal-style quilting. Its powdered effect softens the whole space. Humbug and Coco sit on the bed with a pair of ‘Enid’s Garland’ cushions from Flora’s own collection. The curtains are in Belgian linen from Flora’s friend Nicole Fabre.
When she first arrived, the cottage was a blank canvas with white walls throughout. Flora put her personal stamp on the house immediately, not only livening it up with bold patterns but filling it with deeply personal objects. A watercolour of her father as a boy hangs on the wall with two Norfolk landscapes by photographer Harry Cory Wright.
Paul Massey9/12A quirky country cottage in Sussex transformed by Beata Heuman
Beata Heuman transformed a slightly unconventional mid-17th century cottage in Sussex into a striking family home for her clients through a bold use of colour and a sense of playfulness. In the sitting room a Matisse-like throw from BFGF is displayed like a tapestry on the wall above the powder blue sofa, providing a striking focal point for the room. The aforementioned sofa is an antique, which is adorned in cushions in the ‘Victor Hugo’ linen mix by Le Manach.
Paul Massey10/12Beata is a big fan of curves for the way they ‘bring movement.’ In the teal blue dining room hangs a pair of curved wall brackets. A set of beautiful early nineteenth-century Biedermeier chairs surrounds an antique walnut table. Their loose covers by Sheila Coombes complement the rich blue in the kilim. Beata also designed the light that hangs above the table.
Christopher Horwood11/12Tamsin Saunders' creates an idyllic urban cottage
Tamsin Saunders of Home & Found transformed this once-neglected house in leafy West London into a tranquil city cottage with a wild garden. Wide French doors mean this living and dining space are filled with light, as is this kitchen into which this room flows seamlessly. Vintage textiles and patterns work together to give the space a layered feeling.
Christopher Horwood12/12The kitchen shelves display a cheerful, eclectic mix of pottery and framed art. This cottage may evoke the country, but its in London, where space is a premium, so Tamsin carefully designed all the joinery to make use of every inch of space. The muted colour scheme helps maintain that sense of peace that the house as a whole evokes.
