Room for improvement

Kate Pols skillfully transformed her 17th-century country cottage in Hungerford, adding picturesque gothic windows and an extension that gave her the space and light she desired

- Amanda Harling

Until around 10 years ago, Kate Pols ran a successful antiques and interior design business based in the picturesque town of Hungerford. “As much as I loved dealing in antiques, after 20 years I decided it was time for a change and a simpler life,” she says. “Once the dust had settled after selling the shop and disposing of the stock, I began looking around for a new challenge.”

For Kate, who lives and breathes design, it was a foregone conclusion that ‘new challenge’ was the sub-text for ‘new home’. She continues: “I’d been looking for a while but nothing really appealed until I saw details of this house, an extended 17th-century cottage.

“I drove by to take a look and decided, without even going inside, that this was where I wanted to live. I phoned the agent and put in an offer.

“Looking at the floor plans, I saw that the interior would benefit from a few changes and there was certainly scope for improvement on the garden front. In other words, it was ideal – and a challenge.”

Being only a mile or two outside Hungerford the cottage was convenient and close to friends, and the far-reaching views gave it a real sense of being in the country.

In due course, the sale was completed and six months after Kate moved in, the transformation began.

“I’d renovated several houses in the past and I knew what needed doing, so with the help of my very competent builder I submitted the planning application myself,” she says.

Fortunately, Kate’s new home was unlisted so replacing the existing windows on the front elevation with custom-made gothic ones wasn’t a problem. Neither was her proposal to extend the building by adding a glass-roofed orangery to the kitchen.