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RENOVATED COTTAGE IS A MASTERCLASS IN YEAR-ROUND COSINESS

Dark and moody scheme inspiration this way

James Brett was brought up near the cottage where he now lives, on the beautiful
Northumberland coast. His parents still live in the village, and once he
graduated and became established in his career, which involves a lot of
international travel, he realised he wanted a base near home. His mother had
worked with interior designer Cathy Dean, of Studio Dean, on some projects and
introduced James to her.

‘I’d bought a dated cottage and wanted to revamp it into something a bit more
unique’, he explains. ‘It was pine lined with lowered ceilings and lino on the
floors. An architect had come up with a solution that gave me the three bedrooms
I wanted, but it didn’t quite work for me; it was filled with lots of corridors
and very little storage. I wanted the house to flow better, and when I met
Cathy, her ideas sounded as if they had a lot more potential, so I was delighted
to engage her.’

The resulting house renovation(opens in new tab) is a masterclass in dark and
moody design that's cosy and welcoming all year round. Scroll on to take the
tour.


THE KITCHEN

Cathy came up with a simple solution to the unsatisfactory layout of the cottage
– adding a porch and extending the kitchen. ‘Immediately I could see the benefit
of having somewhere you could take off muddy boots and store coats,’ says James.
‘We rearranged the parking outside so that you enter the house through a
welcoming porch and step into the dining area of the kitchen.
The kitchen is beautifully laid out so James can enjoy the views while cooking
at the peninsula. Studio Dean added scorched reclaimed wooden doors to the Ikea
cabinetry for an industrial edge. Through a sliding barn door, you reach what
was originally the old kitchen and some lean-to outhouses. These have all been
fully incorporated into the property and turned into a third bedroom and a
utility room, with a useful adjoining linen store and a boiler room.



THE DINING AREA

Suspended ceilings were removed, beams and rafters were exposed, and original
features reinstated but with a contemporary twist. ‘I didn’t want to go all-out
country cottage,’ says James. ‘I wanted my home to be a masculine space, but
comfortable. Cathy totally got that and removed all fake, pastiche-y,
non-original details, added lots of industrial contemporary elements, and chose
colours that I really like, letting light into the kitchen-diner but otherwise
keeping the palette relatively monochrome.’
'The extension includes a wall of glass that leads out onto a raised patio and
the views, which you can enjoy inside while cooking or from the new outside
balcony, are stunning,' says James. He tackled the landscaping himself. ‘I love
gardening in my spare time, so it was a joy – and beyond the garden, there are
views of fields for miles around,’ he says. ‘The interior, however, was
completed by Cathy and her team, over a period of 12 months. It passed very
quickly, though. I travel a lot and the progress whenever I came home was
amazing!’



THE LIVING ROOM

The living room is at the front of the house and only has a couple of small
windows, so Cathy and James agreed that this should be a dark, evening space
where you could enjoy the fire and withdraw at the end of the day.
James wanted to add drama to this naturally dark room, creating an evening space
with the focus on the fireplace. Natural materials, warm paint colours and cosy
fabrics are a soft contrast to the bold black elements.



THE BEDROOM

James chose his own builder, electrician and plumber, but used Cathy’s team of
specialists for the tiling and joinery. She installed timber latting in a few
places and embraced the history of the building, using sharp contemporary
joinery to add a modern interpretation.
The bedrooms have a deliberately moody palette and, again, are places where you
want to retreat. 'Cathy introduced me to Benjamin Moore paints, which include a
number of rich, warm shades – perfect for the setting of the north Northumbrian
countryside,’ says James.


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