Photos by Mark Watts and Unique Home Stays
4. Stone Cottage in Cornwall
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Phil and Patricia Smith
Location: Near St. Breward, Cornwall, England
Size: One bedroom, one bathroom
Interior designer: Paul Hervey of PHI Concepts
This cottage is located in a little wooded valley at the edge of Bodmin Moor and near the fishing villages of the north Cornwall coast. It was formerly the village reading room, but it had been empty for about three years. “It just wanted to be loved again,” interior designer Paul Hervey says.
Hervey had to overcome some surprising practical challenges before the decorating could start. “There was an underground river going through the kitchen,” he says. Old paneling was stripped out and the room was tanked to make it watertight.
As it isn’t naturally light-filled, the owners “wanted muted, chalky colors to get the space as well lit as possible,” Hervey says. The living-dining room was zoned to keep it feeling uncluttered. The back of the sofa divides the dining table and chairs from the seating area. Above the dining table, a cupboard constructed from scaffold boards conceals internet and electrical fixtures.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
4. Stone Cottage in Cornwall
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Phil and Patricia Smith
Location: Near St. Breward, Cornwall, England
Size: One bedroom, one bathroom
Interior designer: Paul Hervey of PHI Concepts
This cottage is located in a little wooded valley at the edge of Bodmin Moor and near the fishing villages of the north Cornwall coast. It was formerly the village reading room, but it had been empty for about three years. “It just wanted to be loved again,” interior designer Paul Hervey says.
Hervey had to overcome some surprising practical challenges before the decorating could start. “There was an underground river going through the kitchen,” he says. Old paneling was stripped out and the room was tanked to make it watertight.
As it isn’t naturally light-filled, the owners “wanted muted, chalky colors to get the space as well lit as possible,” Hervey says. The living-dining room was zoned to keep it feeling uncluttered. The back of the sofa divides the dining table and chairs from the seating area. Above the dining table, a cupboard constructed from scaffold boards conceals internet and electrical fixtures.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics