Houzz Tour: Period Cottage Gets a Bright Update
Thoughtful design ensured this compact cottage gained space and light without losing its vintage appeal
It’s a common question: How do you modernize a period property while retaining its original charm? This challenge was paramount for Phil Thomas of design and build firm Albert’s House when it came to redesigning a couple’s compact Victorian-era worker’s cottage. “We wanted to bring the home up to date while respecting its character,” he says.
Thomas designed a pitched-roof addition on one side of the house and opened up the living and dining rooms to create more space. He also paid attention to detail in his design to ensure the home kept its vintage feel.
Thomas designed a pitched-roof addition on one side of the house and opened up the living and dining rooms to create more space. He also paid attention to detail in his design to ensure the home kept its vintage feel.
Thomas sourced antique brass door knobs for the cabinets, and the couple went for a Carrara marble countertop. “It adds texture to the room and enhances the light,” Thomas says.
Subway tiles on the wall keep the look simple and are echoed in the bathroom upstairs.
Brass cabinet door knobs: Optimum Brasses
Subway tiles on the wall keep the look simple and are echoed in the bathroom upstairs.
Brass cabinet door knobs: Optimum Brasses
Houses in the historic conservation area are quite close together, so a pitched roof addition created more space without impinging on the neighbors.
Thomas left the London stock brick exposed on one wall to add character. The back door, which mirrors the Shaker look of the kitchen cabinets, is half glass to let in light.
Three rooflights brighten the space even more, while angled wall lamps illuminate the way in the evening.
Wall paint throughout the house: Strong White, Farrow & Ball; bar stools: Cult Furniture
Thomas left the London stock brick exposed on one wall to add character. The back door, which mirrors the Shaker look of the kitchen cabinets, is half glass to let in light.
Three rooflights brighten the space even more, while angled wall lamps illuminate the way in the evening.
Wall paint throughout the house: Strong White, Farrow & Ball; bar stools: Cult Furniture
The walls between the dining room, hallway and living room were removed to create an open-plan space. “We laid band-sawn oak floorboards throughout the ground floor to add warm texture,” Thomas says.
“The dining table and chairs were reclaimed from a project our builder had recently finished nearby, and the fireplace surround was from the same renovation,” he says.
The living room fireplace was already in place, but Thomas painted its orange pine surface in the same dark shade as the lower kitchen cabinets.
Lamp: Oka; shutters: Plantation Shutters
“The dining table and chairs were reclaimed from a project our builder had recently finished nearby, and the fireplace surround was from the same renovation,” he says.
The living room fireplace was already in place, but Thomas painted its orange pine surface in the same dark shade as the lower kitchen cabinets.
Lamp: Oka; shutters: Plantation Shutters
The wall between the kitchen and living spaces wasn’t completely opened up. “These cottages are really cozy, so we wanted to keep a bit of that,” Thomas says. “It’s also more practical for them, as they have a dog. They can pull a baby gate across the larger opening when they come in from a muddy walk.”
The original kitchen door on the left was blocked up, but the top half has been left open to provide a view of the kitchen and as a nod to the original architecture of the house.
Fireplace paint: Railings, Farrow & Ball
The original kitchen door on the left was blocked up, but the top half has been left open to provide a view of the kitchen and as a nod to the original architecture of the house.
Fireplace paint: Railings, Farrow & Ball
In the master bedroom, the bed was wider than the chimney bump-out, so the team created false half walls on either side to fill out the space. The shelves on top are hinged to give access to storage within.
Bed: Loaf; Bed linens: The White Co.; bedside lamps, Original BTC; Nordic knot loop wool carpet: John Lewis & Partners
Bed: Loaf; Bed linens: The White Co.; bedside lamps, Original BTC; Nordic knot loop wool carpet: John Lewis & Partners
Across from the bed, a wall-to-wall closet with interior drawers provides plenty of storage. The MDF-panel doors were spray-painted in a very pale gray to complement the darker walls.
Closet paint: Ammonite; wall paint: Pavilion Gray, both Farrow & Ball
Closet paint: Ammonite; wall paint: Pavilion Gray, both Farrow & Ball
A divan bed in the second bedroom provides valuable extra storage. Thomas weaved in a vintage feel with an antique chest of drawers and an upcycled wooden crate next to the bed.
Bed linens: The White Co.
Bed linens: The White Co.
“The bathroom is quite large, which allowed us to fit in a separate shower, a freestanding bath and a double basin,” Thomas says. “The basin and bath were reclaimed from the same project as the dining table and fireplace.”
A vintage-style towel bar hangs on the wall to add to the traditional look. Thomas painted the side of the cast-iron bath the same color as the kitchen cabinets to give the home a harmonious look.
Bath paint: Railings, Farrow & Ball
A vintage-style towel bar hangs on the wall to add to the traditional look. Thomas painted the side of the cast-iron bath the same color as the kitchen cabinets to give the home a harmonious look.
Bath paint: Railings, Farrow & Ball
Carrara marble mosaic tiles on the floor and white subway tiles on the wall tie in with the materials used in the kitchen.
Floor tile: Fired Earth
Floor tile: Fired Earth
The loft had already been converted into a bedroom, and the gray wool carpet that features in the first floor bedrooms continues up the stairs.
The pendant light is in the same style as those in the living spaces on the ground floor.
The pendant light is in the same style as those in the living spaces on the ground floor.
There wasn’t much to do in the loft, apart from adding a coat of paint, roof windows, brushed stainless-steel hardware and sockets.
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: West London
Size: Three bedrooms and one bathroom
Designer: Phil Thomas of Albert’s House
To increase space in this small cottage, the kitchen was extended on one side. “The couple were keen to have an island for sociable eating,” Thomas says. He positioned it to face out to the yard, so diners have a view, and away from the side wall, so it didn’t block the passage to the back door.
The custom Shaker-style cabinets have been spray-painted in two shades; the base cabinets are lead gray and the upper cabinets are an off-white, which helps to open up the space.
Kitchen cabinets and Carrara marble countertops: Yew Tree; base cabinet paint: Railings; upper cabinet paint: Cornforth White, both Farrow & Ball
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