Festive Fairytale

Sarah Stanley and Andy Davey have given their storybook thatched Cornish cottage a farmhouse look with a Scandi feel that is particularly bewitching in the winter

- Vivienne Ayers

Absolutely magical,’ says Sarah Stanley of the first time she saw her cottage with its thatched roof, near the north Cornish coast. Sarah and her husband, Andy, had been looking for a home in Cornwall when Sarah’s niece spotted this place online. ‘It was so pretty that I fell in love with it there and then.’

Sarah was equally enchanted when she explored the interior. ‘It had a charming farmhouse feel, with a large kitchen that was part of the original dairy,’ she says. ‘The cottage is set over four levels, so it felt spacious and it had a warmth that we loved. We knew it was the ideal retreat for us, and our children, Bryce, now 23, Josh, 22, and Morgan, 21.’

Although the house was in a good state structurally, it was dated. ‘It had purple carpets on the stairs and a light pink one in the sitting room,’ says Sarah. ‘The decor just didn’t suit the property. But I knew we could turn it into something special.’