Houzz Tour: More Function and Style in an English Cottage
A new layout and a blue-and-white palette unify the rooms and connect the home to its seaside setting
The new owners of this 100-year-old detached cottage on the Cornish coast of England wanted interior designer Tanya Leech to create an open cooking, dining and living space and just refresh the rest of the house. But since additions to the original home had resulted in a long hallway that wasted space, she could see the potential to do much more.
Leech put the kitchen at one end of the space. The cabinetry’s two restful colors tie into the setting of the cottage, which has views across the sea toward St. Michael’s Mount.
The entrance to this end of the room used to be a single door with a little window alongside. Now French doors, pictured at right, maximize the light.
On the other side of the French doors is a playroom that leads to a utility room containing a geothermal heat pump, water heater, washing machine, dryer, sink and storage.
Kitchen cabinetry in Mushroom and Pantry Blue finish: DeVol
The entrance to this end of the room used to be a single door with a little window alongside. Now French doors, pictured at right, maximize the light.
On the other side of the French doors is a playroom that leads to a utility room containing a geothermal heat pump, water heater, washing machine, dryer, sink and storage.
Kitchen cabinetry in Mushroom and Pantry Blue finish: DeVol
The original walls in this space had an uneven, rough plaster finish. Leech added insulation, plasterboard and damp proofing. This resulted in deeper windowsills, so Leech created window seats.
Cushion fabric: William Yeoward
Cushion fabric: William Yeoward
Before: The kitchen the homeowners inherited was dark and rudimentary, to say the least.
Leech vaulted the ceiling and added skylights to brighten the living space. She replaced the top two panels of the front door with glass.
She chose dining chairs in two paint colors so that the design wouldn’t have a brand-new feel. “It looks as if it’s evolved over time,” she says.
The pendant lights over the dining table have a copper interior that’s picked up in the trio of lights above the island, giving continuity to the space.
Pendant lights over table and island: Original BTC; dining chairs: Neptune
Browse pendant lights in the Houzz Shop
She chose dining chairs in two paint colors so that the design wouldn’t have a brand-new feel. “It looks as if it’s evolved over time,” she says.
The pendant lights over the dining table have a copper interior that’s picked up in the trio of lights above the island, giving continuity to the space.
Pendant lights over table and island: Original BTC; dining chairs: Neptune
Browse pendant lights in the Houzz Shop
Before: The old living area had an open fireplace.
Now the living room is larger and has a wood-burning stove. “The builders sourced green oak to create a mantel shelf above it,” Leech says.
To the left of the stove, she designed a recess for the TV to keep it from dominating the room. Cabinets below stow DVDs, toys and games.
With the new open floor plan, the original doorway to the right of the stove became redundant, so she converted the opening to a window.
With the family and dogs sharing the seating, Leech chose a practical fabric from Designers Guild for the sofa. It continues the blue-and-white palette that evokes sea and sky.
Wood-burning stove: Kernow Fires; coffee table: Neptune
To the left of the stove, she designed a recess for the TV to keep it from dominating the room. Cabinets below stow DVDs, toys and games.
With the new open floor plan, the original doorway to the right of the stove became redundant, so she converted the opening to a window.
With the family and dogs sharing the seating, Leech chose a practical fabric from Designers Guild for the sofa. It continues the blue-and-white palette that evokes sea and sky.
Wood-burning stove: Kernow Fires; coffee table: Neptune
Before: The layout of the original cottage, in the center, was awkward, and the hallway connecting later additions on the left and the right was a waste of space.
After: Besides opening up the original cottage to create one kitchen-dining-living space, Leech made better use of the hallway.
Part of the old hallway is now a playroom. The cabinet on the right has space inside for toys and is a convenient height for play. “The desk is for dad to put his laptop on,” Leech says.
Wall paint: Stiffkey Blue, Farrow & Ball
Wall paint: Stiffkey Blue, Farrow & Ball
The powder room off the entrance hall has a place for shoes and jackets. It’s also home to the wine fridge the owners wanted.
Leech chose tongue-and-groove paneling, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue, for the wall behind. “It gives you a hardwearing surface when coats are damp,” she says. “A painted [plaster] wall would look scuffed quite quickly.”
The floor tiles here and in the hallway are limestone. “We needed something practical for muddy boots and dogs,” Leech says. “It doesn’t show the dirt too much, and it has a rustic look with tumbled edges.”
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Leech chose tongue-and-groove paneling, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue, for the wall behind. “It gives you a hardwearing surface when coats are damp,” she says. “A painted [plaster] wall would look scuffed quite quickly.”
The floor tiles here and in the hallway are limestone. “We needed something practical for muddy boots and dogs,” Leech says. “It doesn’t show the dirt too much, and it has a rustic look with tumbled edges.”
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The master bedroom features pale shades of pink on the walls and headboard. As in the other rooms, the curtains hang entirely against the walls when they’re drawn to make the most of the light.
The owners wanted a large bed, which left limited space for bedside tables. To keep the tabletops free for nighttime essentials, Leech chose pendant lights instead of table lamps.
Pendant lights: Jim Lawrence; wall paint: Great White, Farrow & Ball
The owners wanted a large bed, which left limited space for bedside tables. To keep the tabletops free for nighttime essentials, Leech chose pendant lights instead of table lamps.
Pendant lights: Jim Lawrence; wall paint: Great White, Farrow & Ball
Leech angled two of the walls in the master bedroom to make room for a built-in closet (not pictured).
She commissioned Nicole Heidaripour, a local artist, to create the pen-and-ink drawing of a wind-sculpted tree, which fits nicely with the simple, elegant decor.
Lamp: John Lewis
Lamp: John Lewis
The master en suite features a short claw-foot tub, giving it a traditional feel. The floor tiles in here and the other bathrooms are limestone.
Bathtub: Victoria + Albert; wall paint: Peignoir, Farrow & Ball
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Bathtub: Victoria + Albert; wall paint: Peignoir, Farrow & Ball
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The traditional sink complements the tub, and a softly patterned tile backsplash protects and decorates the wall above it.
All the bathrooms have pocket doors to maximize space.
Faucet: Samuel Heath
All the bathrooms have pocket doors to maximize space.
Faucet: Samuel Heath
A chest of drawers boosts storage in the hallway near the master bedroom and the children’s room. Generous storage throughout the home was a must-have for the owners, so there’s a linen closet near these rooms too.
Chest and lamp: Neptune
Chest and lamp: Neptune
For the fish-scale tiles around the tub in the family bathroom, Leech selected the colors carefully, with mostly paler shades. “Too many deep colors would have made the room too dark,” she says.
Tile: Fired Earth
The Beautiful Wall Tiles You’ll Be Hankering After
Tile: Fired Earth
The Beautiful Wall Tiles You’ll Be Hankering After
The guest bedroom is located away from the family’s rooms, to the left of the entrance hall. It has its own en suite shower, for which a small amount of space was stolen from the bedroom.
This room, like the others in the cottage, has a new door. The handle is the color of pewter. “We didn’t want rustic latched handles, nor brushed stainless steel contemporary ones,” Leech says. “These have modern style with a traditional finish.”
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This room, like the others in the cottage, has a new door. The handle is the color of pewter. “We didn’t want rustic latched handles, nor brushed stainless steel contemporary ones,” Leech says. “These have modern style with a traditional finish.”
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The exterior shows the later additions to the property. The open-plan kitchen, dining and living room is in the old stone part of the cottage. The family bedrooms are in the white section to the right, and the guest suite is in the white section to the left.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple with three young children
Location: Near Marazion, England
Size: Three bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Designer: Tanya Leech
“The original cottage was effectively a kitchen, dining room and living room,” Leech says. “But you couldn’t walk from the dining room to the living room without coming back out to the kitchen.” She removed the walls between the three rooms to create a more sociable space that functions better for the family and its guests.
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