Family affair

When Debbie and GeoffGrantham decided to buy their daughter’s cottage by the sea, they worked with her on an ambitious classic-meets-contemporary makeover

- KATHERINE SORRELL

DINING ROOM

Standout tiles enliven the passageway to the cook space. Heritage star tiles in Navy, £29.64sq m, Porcelain Superstore. Stockholm mirror, £50, Ikea. Kyla stools, £99 each, John Lewis & Partners

KITCHEN

Opting for just one wall unit helped retain a feeling of space. Fairford units in Dove Grey, price on request, Howdens. Bianco Assoluto quartz worktop, from around £2,700, Everything Stone

DINING ROOM

The streamlined console table gave another surface for small decorative touches. Rebecca oak dining table, £495; Rebecca oak dining chairs, £390 for two, all Perch & Parrow. Try the 17 Stories Caserta console table, £149.99, Wayfair

SITTING ROOM

Having a chair on each side of the opening evokes a pleasing symmetrical feel. Ekenaset armchairs, £179 each, Ikea. Ahana 170cm swing-arm floor lamp, £123.99, Wayfair

Transforming a dark, cramped cottage into a comfortable home is the ultimate in satisfying renovation projects – and in the case of Debbie and GeoffGrantham’s Cornish house, the makeover was achieved with the help of their daughter, interior designer Hollie Milne, and her husband Will, a builder. ‘We talked together a lot about the house,’ says Debbie. ‘Geoff and Will had most of the ideas for the structural improvements, while Hollie had free rein over the interior. It worked really well.’