LIVINgTHEDREAM
Buyinga holidayhomegave
Georginatheopportunitytoput
allofherinteriordesignexperience
intoherownhomeHowwasittryingout
ideasonyourownhouse?
‘Itwassomuchfun!Wealwaysknew
it wouldbeletouttoguestsso
wantedit tohavea fresh,holiday
cottagefeel,withsomecoastal-
themedpieces,butalsotobepractical.‘
Whataretheessential
elementsofholiday
homedecor?
‘Themostimportantthingis tofeel
thattheholidayhasbegunthe
secondyouwalkthroughthedoor.
Youwanttocreatea schemethat
encourageshappytimesand
memories,sonothingtooprecious.’
Howdoesthehouse
reflectyourpersonality?
‘Whenwecometothecottage
wewanttorelaxandunwindand
I thinkthesoftcoloursreflectthat.’we’dbothgrownupwithone,soit seemedlikefate,
andwelikedthewoodenfloorboardsandthefactit
wassucha lighthome.Becauseit wasa coastguard’s
cottageit hadsomuchhistorybehindit.Plus, it was
sucha shortwalkfromthebeach,too.’
Thehousedidn’trequireanystructuralwork,so
GeorginaandJamesonlyneededtomakecosmetic
changes.‘Wehaddecoratorsinfora coupleofweeks
andanelectriciantoreplacesockets,switchesandlight
fittings.Wepaintedthekitchencabinetsandreplaced
thehandlestoupdateit andpaintedorvarnishedall
ofthefloorboards.Wealsochosenewcurtainsand
lightfittingsanda mixofnew,upcycledandantique
furniture,’saysGeorgina.Thehousewasdoneupin
recordtime– thepurchasecompletedinSeptember
andthehousewasfinishedbyNovember.
A pale,neutralpalettewaschosenfortheentire
property.‘Wewantedit tofeellikeourholidayhome,
butweremindfulthatweplannedtorentit out,too,’
saysGeorgina.‘Aswewouldbehavingguestshere,
weinvestedinhigh-qualitycurtains,bedlinen,towels
andcomfybeds,whicharesoimportantinmaking
it feellikea homefromhome.Wedidit ona budget
so we picked up relatively inexpensive pieces andGuestbedroom
A calming,neutralcolour
schemeis anidealchoice
forholidayrentals.Beds,
Ikea.Mirror, CoachHouse.
Pendantlight, Amazon
>Devon CoTTAGe