Polly & Dai’s Happy Cornwall Cottage Home

Name: Dai, Polly, Minnie & Rosie Hughes
Location: Crackington Haven, North Cornwall
Size: 3 bedrooms
Years lived in: 3, owned

Polly and Dai’s colourful cottage in Cornwall is just a short walk to the rugged cliffs and sandy beach at Crackington Haven. The couple moved to this idyllic spot three years ago when their twin daughters, Minnie and Rosie, were babies. It’s a far cry from their previous life amidst the hustle and bustle of London’s East end, and the family has fully embraced the change of scene.

The house is made of traditional stone and cob, and like all good homes is still something of a work in progress. Together, the couple designed a new kitchen, using old tea chests for cupboard doors, and they have filled the house with an eclectic mix of vintage furniture and modern designs. The garden has also been transformed, with beautiful and productive vegetable beds, a vast log pile to keep the wood burning stove going, and a sunny shed from which Dai works.

The kids’ rooms are a definite highlight of this house, with one of the girls having a clever cabin bed, built in to an otherwise empty space behind the stairs. Each of their bedrooms is bright and colorful and filled with a medley of toys and art. This looks like a fun house to grow up in, and those are my very favourite kinds of family homes.

My Style: Bright, colourful.

Inspiration: Freshness and light, mixed with some simple Scandinavian design and some random things. We want our home to be comfortable to live in and for our children to play in. Our aim is to strike a balance between those things. One day when we get around to sorting more of our things and perhaps extending the building, the house will hopefully reflect this better… Otherwise I (Polly) really love pretty much anything Marimekko. I think this best reflects what we aim for, with some inherited antiques and vintage finds thrown in for good measure.

Favorite Element: The girls’ bedrooms (although there are still a few finishing touches needed!) and the kitchen, as they are the most complete and so best reflect our tastes. Everything else is a work in progress.

Biggest Challenge: Finding time to get anything done! And sanding the upstairs floors, as the old boards were caked in some kind of tar. We took 3 days to get anywhere near a reasonable finish and still had to pay someone professional to complete the job.

What Friends Say: Most don’t like all of it but love a lot of it. All probably say it’s very ‘us’

Biggest Embarrassment: Dai accidentally drilling a hole into the new table top when attaching the legs. It was the last hole too…

Proudest DIY: The Peg board in kitchen used to hang mugs and various kitchen utensils.

Biggest Indulgence: The custom built unit in the kitchen – the height is perfect for us and helps us avoid backache whilst washing up!

Best Advice: We’ve found it can be good to live in a house before doing too much to it (most of the work we have done so far is light cosmetic), providing it’s in a reasonable enough state to do that! It can be handy for planning exactly what you want or need once you know how you will live in and use a space, especially if you’re on a tight budget, so there won’t be any expensive mistakes / regrets. Eventually we’ll knock down walls and do more structural work, and living here before we begin that process has helped us to realise exactly what we want at the end of it.

Dream Sources: Marimekko, Hay, SCP, Ferm Living, Huset Shop, Madeleine Weinrib, Svenskt Tenn

Thanks, Polly and Dai!

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