Innehållsförteckning för English Cottage 2021 från Victoria

Dear Friends Why does my heart flutter at the first glimpse of our editorial team’s perennially popular English Cottage? This special issue promises an array of storybook havens, bringing to mind a range of dwellings, from quaint ivy-clad abodes nestled among tangles of blooms to gracious estates boasting exquisitely manicured formal gardens. Whether humble or grand, each home chosen for this publication holds the power to capture my imagination. The lovely space showcased on the cover—the drawing room of a seventeenth-century manor in Yorkshire—brims with the sense of timeless romance we often associate with British style. Step into this historic property on page 29. In other features, learn how a Victorian schoolhouse finds new life as a residence, explore the halls of a country house beloved by generations of the…

Half-hidden by an old brick wall and a pair of gates, David Hurlston and Nic Taylor’s Georgian home reveals very little to passersby on the street. If one were to blink, he or she might miss it entirely. When circling around the back of the property, however, visitors are greeted by a visual masterpiece. The original façade, with a stone-stepped door at the center and windows positioned symmetrically around it, is like a storybook drawing: beautifully balanced and facing a colorful walled garden. When David and Nic first came across the house, it felt welcoming. Their search for a period residence with verdancy was over, and they promptly moved from York to the countryside. “Our previous homes required a lot of work, and we wanted to avoid another major renovation,”…

When Pollyanna Green and her husband, Nick, went house-hunting in the Cotswolds, she had her heart set on finding a quaint, thatched-roof cottage. Everything changed when the pair noticed a run-down Victorian schoolhouse at the heart of a village. “It was simply love at first sight,” says Pollyanna. The schoolhouse, which dates from 1855, had been converted into a home in the 1960s, but previous occupants had left much of the interior untouched for decades. Armed with ideas from the new owners, an architect drew up plans to enlarge and rearrange the property, turning it into a unique home for the couple and their two grown children. Being in a conservation area, the building’s front façade could not be altered, but a spacious new kitchen was able to be added…

When interior designer and lifestyle blogger Sophia Wadsworth and her husband, Andrew, were searching for land on which to build a home, they knew exactly what they wanted—and they weren’t willing to compromise. Their patience and determination paid off when they discovered this scenic plot in the county of Kent that once welcomed horses and riders. Though the tract came with a cottage and outbuildings, it already had received approval for new construction, thus suiting the couple’s plans. Rather than living elsewhere, they installed three mobile homes on site to use as temporary housing during the time it took to complete the project—a decision they questioned as England shivered through one of the coldest winters on record. “We had our vision to keep us going,” explains Sophia. The joy of…

Although Sally Paget-Brown is retired from her noteable career as an interior designer, she simply cannot resist a project, and the quintessentially English cottage she came across several years ago was no exception. “Even though I was very happy in the converted coach house that I renovated in 2014,” she explains, “I missed not having a garden for my grandchildren to play in, and I needed more bedrooms for my visitors.” Sally was drawn to the early-eighteenth-century house’s quirkiness and its ties to illustrious architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who designed two of its numerous extensions and once lived across the street. Since it is Grade II listed, as well as located in a conservation area, she had to request additional permits before starting her own renovation. The previous owner had…

Having lived in a Greenwich flat for several years, Linda and David Williams decided in 1979 to move to a home with a garden. Their ideal dwelling would have plenty of light and little maintenance so as not to interfere with David’s painting or his position as an art teacher. Shortly after their search began, however, something unique caught Linda’s eye. The property, a butcher’s shop with lodgings aloft, was nearby in Southeast London. It seemed to be everything the pair thought they didn’t want—dark, in need of repair, and with minimal gardening space. Yet, despite the negatives, they instantly fell in love. An elderly butcher and his wife were selling the shop. Apparently, he had purchased it in the thirties after working there as a butcher boy since 1917.…

A Yorkshire girl at heart, interior designer Jojo Bradley moved with her husband, Mark, to Cheshire in order to be nearer to his family’s business. Before the birth of their two sons, Archie and Bertie, the pair began searching in earnest for a home in which to permanently settle. They found one in a picturesque village near Chester—a Georgian double-fronted structure built in 1824 and located on a former working dairy farm. “We absolutely fell in love with the house,” says Jojo. She could see that the place had potential but knew that the task of restoring it would be a labor of love. The building had been converted into two separate homes, one of which had become completely derelict. The renovations took two years, during which time her design…

CREDITS EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS HEATHER DIXON: pages 29–40 NATALIE FLAUM: pages 73–82 ANNABELLE GRUNDY: pages 63–72 RACHEL LEEDHAM: pages 9–18 ALICE MORO: pages 41–50 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS SARA BIRD: pages 19–28 DAN DUCHARS: pages 19–28 DAVID GILES: pages 41–50 CAROLINE MARDON: pages 9–18 COLIN POOLE: pages 29–40 and 63–82 CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS SARA BIRD: pages 19–28 DAN DUCHARS: pages 19–28 WHERE TO SHOP & BUY Below is a list of properties and companies featured in this issue. Items not listed are privately owned and are not for sale. Pricing and availability may vary. Cover and pages 9–94: Special thanks to GAP Interiors, +44 1376 573198, info@gapinteriors.com, gapinteriors.com. Pages 9–18: 1st Dibs, 877-721-3427, 1stdibs.com. And So To Bed, + 44 808 144 4343, andsotobed.co.uk. Colefax and Fowler, 212-647-6900, cowtan.com. Designers Guild, 212-967-4540, designersguild.com. Drummonds,…