A CHARMING HIDEAWAY

Zara Dawson’s pretty Cotswold stone cottage is decorated with reclaimed wood and vintage accessories, for a look brimming with nostalgia

- NATALIE FLAUM

A weekend soaking up rural delights in the picturesque Cotswolds inspired Zara Dawson and Lex James to buy a retreat in Oxfordshire as a place to escape to from their south London family home.

‘All we saw were properties with fuddy-duddy interiors – nothing that inspired a modern feel in a rustic building,’ says Zara. ‘We noticed this cottage on a website and expressed our interest even though it was under offer. The next day we received a call from the agent to say it was back on the market. So we asked to see the property that evening and drove straight from London, arriving at 6 pm, when it was pitch black outside. The cottage had no electrics so we viewed it using our iPhone torches! We offered the asking price on the spot and got the keys six weeks later.’

Zara oversaw every detail of the renovation, hiring tradesmen and enlisting the help of her father’s building firm in the early stages. The cottage was stripped back as the electrics, plumbing and pipework were renewed, and the couple took on most of the decorating work. ‘Nothing was straightforward and every time we started a job, it led to a trail of more to complete,’ she says. ‘The project also coincided with a three-month hospital stay during my pregnancy – it was a very trying year.’

Zara sourced all the reclaimed wood from local yard Burgess Reclamation. The wood came from RAF base Little Rissington, which was in operation from 1938 to 1994 and was once home to the Red Arrows. ‘The airbase was demolished in 2014 and we feel that using wood from there enhances the history of our cottage and the area,’ she says.