HOMEY HODGEPODGE

Long inspired by old fishing villages, hunting lodges, and the American West, British designer Tom Cox settles into a cozy and collected 325-year-old farmhouse deep in the English countryside.

- KELLY RYAN KEGANS

Trimmed in Cornish coastal blue, Tom Cox's 17th-century stone cottage in Devon, England, is partially shrouded by thick hedgerows and tangles of leafy wisteria, OPPOSITE: In the living room, the plaster walls complement the Delft tile fireplace surround. An antique wood-carved salmon-fishing trophy channels Tom's love of fly-fishing.

The long meander through lush valleys and over rolling hills bordered by dense hedgerows makes navigating to Tom Cox's 17th-century English country farmhouse a challenge, albeit a beautiful one. Even the designer himself had a hard time locating the secluded property in Devon, England: “I'd been coming to this area for a long time to fish, but I got lost trying to find the house. Finally, I had to call the [real estate] agent.” Once he arrived, Tom fell for the 325-year-old stone cottage hook, line, and sinker. “I'd never seen anything like it,” he says. “It's quite magical.”

For years Tom had been looking for a quiet homestead to escape to after a busy week at HÁM Interiors (haminteriors.com), the design firm based near London that he founded in 2011 with his parents, Nick and Pamela, and his sister, Kate. (The firm expanded its services this year to include more U.S.-based design projects and now ships its products to the United States as well.)