My Houzz: A Cosy, Characterful Cottage That’s Also Light and Airy
This 19th century house proves warm, welcoming rooms can still be daylight-filled, and character and luxe do mix
Located in the Derbyshire countryside, this stone-built Peak District cottage isn’t far from where Scott King grew up – and where his parents still live. He’d even stayed in it two years before he bought it, and fallen hard for its charms. “There was just something in me, and something about the house,” he says. He’d seen beyond an interior that, back then, felt utilitarian and bare to a future where the cottage was snug but still airy, and, though compact, felt spacious, too.
A conservatory at the front of the house leads onto the terrace. King inherited the chairs and handmade dining table in here from the previous owner. The carpenter who originally installed the engineered oak flooring and doors elsewhere in the cottage – before King bought it – had made the table to fit the space using leftover wood.
King added a barbecue to the terrace, as well as a table beside it for utensils and food. Both are made from local stone.
A stable door leads from the conservatory into the living room. The stone wall of the cottage gives the space a beautiful textural quality, which is complemented by woven and wooden finishes.
Sliding barn doors are another country favourite – see ideas for incorporating one into any interior
Sliding barn doors are another country favourite – see ideas for incorporating one into any interior
King added extra furniture and decorative accessories – including the footstool and mirror – to make the previously sparse living room feel welcoming.
Here, as throughout the cottage, the walls are painted in a chalky neutral (Chalk Stone by Dulux, now discontinued), and the décor majors in pale shades. “I like the colour palette because it keeps the cottage light and airy,” says King. “A dark palette could have felt oppressive – in Derbyshire, we get dark, grey days.”
Footstool, Laura Ashley.
Here, as throughout the cottage, the walls are painted in a chalky neutral (Chalk Stone by Dulux, now discontinued), and the décor majors in pale shades. “I like the colour palette because it keeps the cottage light and airy,” says King. “A dark palette could have felt oppressive – in Derbyshire, we get dark, grey days.”
Footstool, Laura Ashley.
King chose furniture, including this TV unit, that was “cottagey but a bit more contemporary” than most of the pieces he’d inherited with the house.
The front window incorporates a window seat that overlooks the garden. It’s made from the same engineered oak as the floor.
The front window incorporates a window seat that overlooks the garden. It’s made from the same engineered oak as the floor.
A wood-burning stove in the cottage’s original fireplace keeps the room snug. “There’s a radiator, but in winter you don’t need it because of the log-burner,” says King.
Up the steps from the living room is the kitchen.
Up the steps from the living room is the kitchen.
Just like in the conservatory, the dining table in the kitchen was made from leftover wood to fit the space. King isn’t precious about the table surface, as he knew it would be hardworking. “It can be sanded down and repolished,” he says.
He hung a chandelier low over the table. It’s on a separate circuit to the other kitchen lighting, and all of the lights can be dimmed, so King can create an intimate atmosphere for dining.
Chandelier, Laura Ashley.
He hung a chandelier low over the table. It’s on a separate circuit to the other kitchen lighting, and all of the lights can be dimmed, so King can create an intimate atmosphere for dining.
Chandelier, Laura Ashley.
The kitchen layout makes the most of the available space, with the fridge and freezer tucked underneath an additional work surface (seen right) finished in tiles that coordinate with the splashback opposite.
From here, stairs lead up to the bedroom. “They’re wide and feel quite grand for a small cottage,” says King.
From here, stairs lead up to the bedroom. “They’re wide and feel quite grand for a small cottage,” says King.
The master bedroom is generously sized and, with two windows, has light and views. King wanted an armchair and added an electric stove to the fireplace to make it a welcoming space in which to sit. “You can bring the papers and a coffee up here,” he says. “It feels peaceful.”
King chose a patterned wallpaper for the area behind the bed, opting for a stripe to offset the room’s foliage-trail curtains.
Eaton Stripe wallpaper; Cambridge button-back armchair, both Laura Ashley. Mirror, John Lewis.
King chose a patterned wallpaper for the area behind the bed, opting for a stripe to offset the room’s foliage-trail curtains.
Eaton Stripe wallpaper; Cambridge button-back armchair, both Laura Ashley. Mirror, John Lewis.
There’s a separate dressing room with floor-to-ceiling wardrobes as well as a dressing table and stool. “I could have shoe-horned in a second bedroom, but I wanted the luxury of having quite a lot of space,” says King.
The dressing table, stool and mirror were all spray-painted in the same shade to pull the scheme together.
King hung wallpaper with a gold detail in this room. “At night, if you turn on the dressing table light, you get a lovely reflection from the wallpaper,” he says.
Oriental Garden wallpaper, Laura Ashley.
Browse the Houzz Shop for chests of drawers
The dressing table, stool and mirror were all spray-painted in the same shade to pull the scheme together.
King hung wallpaper with a gold detail in this room. “At night, if you turn on the dressing table light, you get a lovely reflection from the wallpaper,” he says.
Oriental Garden wallpaper, Laura Ashley.
Browse the Houzz Shop for chests of drawers
The bathroom is upstairs, but set at a lower level than the dressing room (just seen through the door). A large vanity unit maximises the storage space, while a wide, frameless mirror visually opens up the room.
A walk-in shower across the full width of the bathroom makes the room feel generously appointed, and the simple glass screen keeps light from the window flowing through the space. The floor and wall tiles are travertine.
The original house had been added to over the years, with an extension at the back and another for the bathroom.
This house is available to rent through Unique Home Stays.
Tell us…
Like this traditional stone cottage? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
This house is available to rent through Unique Home Stays.
Tell us…
Like this traditional stone cottage? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here Scott King
Location Over Haddon, near Bakewell, Derbyshire
Property Detached cottage thought to date from 1840
Size One bedroom and one bathroom
Photos by Mark Watts and Unique Home Stays
The cottage is set in the countryside and has far-reaching views across fields and hills from the garden and inside the house.