CORNISH CREAM

Nicola Casperson has brought elements of outique hotel design into her Cornish cottage, creating a stylish and relaxing home

- JANE CRITTENDEN

At the heart of Nicola Casperson’s 1800s cottage are the original thick stone walls, exposed beams and slate floor. But she’s given these authentic features an update with soothing grey decoration and smart, tactile fabrics that evoke the laid-back luxury of a boutique hotel.

‘While renovating, I had an old French farmhouse in mind, inspired by Soho Farmhouse and the Artist Residence hotels,’ explains Nicola, an interior designer. ‘I love a rustic-luxury look that blends comfortable living with a sense of pampering.’

After 17 years living in London, Nicola found the city had lost its shine and decided to look for a place in Cornwall to retreat to at weekends. Her parents had owned a holiday house in North Cornwall, and she had happy memories of the area.

‘My house search was niche. I looked at properties in five villages – places we used to visit and I knew well,’ she says. ‘I didn’t want to be too remote as the coast can be quite bleak in winter, so it was about finding a cottage in a village with a community and a pub.’ It took Nicola two years to find what she was looking for, and when she did it was a property that needed her creative vision to turn it into a comfortable home.

‘The two-bedroom cottage was built pre-1840s. It was unattractive – a pebble-dash extension with a flat roof, uPVC windows, magnolia decoration and no traditional features,’ she says. ‘But the village location was perfect, plus there were good connections to Exeter and Newquay for me to travel back to London.’