Houzz Tour: City Glamour in a Rural Country Home

For this not-so-little cottage in the Cotswolds, it was important to the clients that each room had its own special feel but still work with the rest of the home. “The challenge was creating something quite quirky that somehow all tied together,” says designer Kirsty McMorron of Absolute Abode Design. The home consists of three buildings that are interconnected: the old Georgian cottage, an old malt house (where grain was converted into malt) and the former stables, which now house the dining room.

Houzz at a Glance
Location: The Cotswolds
Size: 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
Designers: Kirsty McMorron and former business partner Sophie Mills of Absolute Abode Design

The main cottage is three stories and holds a living room, a TV room, a library, four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The malt house and former stables are home to the kitchen and dining room on the ground floor; above those rooms are two bedrooms and two bathrooms, forming the guest quarters.


The designers found the house in pretty good shape, just not quite to the owners’ tastes, and the work performed was largely decorative. “The owners are from London and wanted it to feel like a boutique hotel, but with a country twist,” McMorron says.


To bring a sophisticated feel to the living room, McMorron opted for luxurious fabrics in grays and purples to cover the custom-made furniture. The owners often host friends and family, so they wanted the living room to be spacious enough to fit lots of people. “The reception and cocktail area needed to take up to 10 people,” McMorron says.

“We used a dark purple silk wallpaper on the central wall to give it a bit more glamour,” she says. Mirrors behind the shelves help to make the proportions bigger, and are “quite fun with cocktails,” she adds.

Silk wallpaper: Fox Linton


McMorron went for muted purples, browns and greens to keep the look in here quite low-key. There’s no TV either. “This is a space for reading, chatting and sitting in front of the fire,” she says.

Armchair: The French House; rug, Amy Kent


Off the living room is this quaint library space, with stairs that go to the TV room. “This used to be the dining room, but we changed it into a library space because the clients love books,” McMorron says. The shelving was custom made, and the armchair and rug were purchased at antiques stores.


The kitchen was in good shape, so McMorron and Mills didn’t change much other than the color of the cabinets. It’s a fairly traditional country kitchen in a warm gray, with a red Aga to brighten up the space.

The left door at the end leads into the dining room in the old stables, and to the right is a small pantry.

Cabinet paint: French Gray, Farrow & Ball


The windows of the kitchen, located in the old malt house, are low and sweet. Two small pillows have transformed one into a little seating nook. McMorron painted a farmhouse chair red to tie in with the bold Aga.


A large dining table and chairs sit in the old stables. The space was originally used for storage, but McMorron felt it was more practical to relocate the dining room here from where the library now is.

“It makes it quite atmospheric, having it in the stables, and it also works much better being next to the kitchen,” the designer says. She painted the stable wall red to add a touch of drama and create continuity with the kitchen.

Dining table and chairs: Grange


The master bedroom sits above the living room and continues the color scheme of muted purples in the velvet bedspread and chair and the silk curtains. “We wanted something quite peaceful and calm,” McMorron says.

Bedspread: The White Company


Blue takes center stage in a second bedroom. “This is quite a sunny room on the same floor as the master bedroom, so we wanted it to be nice and fresh,” McMorron says.

Rather than going with a traditional large mirror, McMorron thought it would be fun to pull together a collection of antique Victorian mirrors to add some quirky interest.

Armchair: Designers Guild


This attic bathroom in the old cottage was in good shape. “We just added the wall sticker to make it a bit quirky,” McMorron says.

Wall decal: Bouf

Browse more homes by style:
Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Eclectic Homes | Modern Homes | Contemporary Homes | Midcentury Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Barn Homes | Townhouses | Apartments | Lofts | Vacation Homes

URL: Houzz Tour: City Glamour in a Rural Country Home http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-26196.html