A Quaint Cottage Renovation in Cambridge

A full home renovation modernising atraditionalcosy cottage.

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A lovely little cottage with tonnes of potential is transformed with a perfectly balanced mix of modern and traditional with the help of Refresh Renovations.
A traditional english country cottage presents many challenges to a renovation team, they are often listed buildings, have minimal access, quirky shapes and traditional features, and often have gone for years and years without being fully refurbished.
This quirky little cottage in the cambridgeshire countryside required fully refurbishing to bring it back to its original glory. Our Cambridge Refresh Renovation Specialist Simon Kelliher worked with the clients around their design aspirations to achieve the perfect quaint cottage renovation.

A modern kitchen for a country cottage

Cottages always present some design challenges when working through the concept stages of the Refresh process. With their low ceilings, small windows and multiple access points, cottage kitchen have to be perfectly efficient designs, whilst being sympathetic to the natural architecture of the property.
Simon and his teams of designers and trusted tradespeople worked to achieve the perfect kitchen for the client which balances the country cottage elements perfectly with the newly renovated elements. New recessed lighting balances between traditional beams, visually lifting the ceiling and brightening the dark areas created by the country cottage windows. The bright tonality of the kitchen units bounces light around the room, and the shape of the cabinetry and traditional Belfast style sink nods to a notion of the traditional whilst modernising the room and emanating a high end aesthetic.

Delivery Difficulties and Scheduling Saves

Refresh Renovations takes the planning of our projects very seriously. All elements are carefully taken into consideration before we even move to the build stage. Even the best laid plans can go awry occasionally, but with a Refresh Renovation Specialist on hand to mitigate even the most unexpected plot twists, our clients can be safe in the knowledge that their renovation project is being looked after.
With this cottage transformation, the current climate of covid restrictions and early Brexit teething issues led to unexpected delays on some of the deliveries and problems with the supply of some elements, such as doors and the kitchen worktop. Simon took care of the delays, by reworking the schedule of works to accommodate these delays without being an inconvenience to the client, whilst also swallowing the additional cost of resourcing a different worktop.
These delays meant the Simon and his team had to think on their feet to change the scope and schedule of works to ensure that the customer had the most important elements of the project completed in order to move back in to the property, and requiring the contractors to undertake additional work to ensure the property could be habitable despite the delays.

A modern country style bathroom

The bathroom in this cosy little cottage really makes the most of the space with wall units for storage with a traditional shaker style cabinet doors. This perfectly suits the property type, because cosy cottages are often lacking sufficient storage for the modern lifestyle. These cabinets allow for the client to store all their bathroom essentials without cluttering the room, whilst also hiding all the plumbing works for the toilet and sink.

Built in Storage for the Living room

Country cottages are not well known for their storage options, so the clients here went for plenty of built in storage in their newly renovated living room. Light tones for the paint bounces light around the room, and helps to create a light and airy space, whilst recessed spotlights help to visually raise the height of the ceiling and flows aesthetically from the other spaces. This space optimally utilises the available space by having a small desk area under the traditional wooden staircase, whilst the traditional fireplace is highlighted as a feature.
This project just goes to show the importance of having an expert to manage your project and stay in control of the variables to remove the stress and hassle from home renovations and keep everything flowing smoothly, adjusting to the dramas and dilemmas which can arise during building works.