How to select holiday cottage interiors

Unless you’re lucky enough to be building a whole place from the ground up, there’s not a great deal you can do about what the outside of your holiday cottage looks like, but the interior is your chance to shine. Here’s a few tips on delighting guests from the moment they open the door.  

Avoid the generic 

There’s nothing worse, in our opinion, than a holiday cottage that feels like you could be anywhere. Let your personality shine through in your décor rather than settling for generic art prints and furnishings.

Warmth and character in your interior will make your place memorable if people are considering multiple properties or scrolling through search results online. It also means they’ll love it when they get there. 

Find your own style 

There’s a delightfully broad range in what our guests, look for in a place to stay. Some people love chic Scandi minimalism, others the rough stone and wonky doorways of a 400-year-old farmhouse. We love them all.

What we look for in our special places to stay is the passion they’ve been created with, whether that’s original Victorian railway lamps tracked down for the dining room, colourful designer armchairs as the accent piece in the lounge or the loving preservation of centuries of tradition.  

Look Local 

It’s great to have the feeling that you’re really getting to know a place when you travel. Little details like local art, crockery, provisions or furnishings can bring the area you’re visiting to life.

You can also leave business cards or information for guests, letting them know where they can buy what they’ve seen as souvenirs. This isn’t just good for making guests happy, but can also help your whole community, from beekeepers and brewers to potters and painters.  

The personal and practical  

There’s one slight caveat to our golden rule of “be yourself” and that’s considering the practical needs of the guests. You should always make sure that style is backed up by substance – good beds, the right equipment and utensils, all the facilities up to snuff. 

But while we’ve spoken elsewhere about the importance of choosing your audience and getting your place right for them, there are ways of giving even the most mundane and practical things a touch of magic. The more love you put into your place, the more guests will respond.