{"id":278969,"date":"2025-07-21T03:32:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T03:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/278969\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T03:32:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T03:32:17","slug":"a-designers-idyllic-urban-cottage-where-nature-and-intuition-inform-every-detail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/278969\/","title":{"rendered":"A designer’s idyllic urban cottage where nature and intuition inform every detail"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first time Tamsin Saunders visited the 1930s cottage that would eventually become her bucolic nest, it wasn\u2019t the architecture that caught her eye. \u2018I was looking for a new home and I\u2019d always really wanted to move out to the country<\/a>,\u2019 says Tamsin, founder of Home & Found<\/a>. \u2018But because of work and the children\u2019s schools, I needed to stay in London. So I started looking around Ham, Petersham and Richmond. When you drop down the hill and head towards the river, everything changes \u2014 the air feels cooler and fresher, and you slip into a completely different gear.\u2019<\/p>\n

Anchored by wide French windows framing a view of mature trees<\/a> and swathes of planting, the light-filled living and dining space flows seamlessly into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Christopher Horwood<\/p>\n

Overlooking an open meadow, the modest red-brick building hadn\u2019t been touched in decades. Its architecture was honest, if somewhat unremarkable. Yet at the back, a generous garden stretched out \u2014 unloved, but full of promise. \u2018It was completely covered in crazy paving, but it seemed to go on forever. I knew it was a chance to make something really beautiful.\u2019<\/p>\n

For some time after moving in, Tamsin kept the house\u2019s original \u2018two up, two down\u2019 layout largely intact, limiting herself to essential structural updates and decoration<\/a>. But as her three children grew and the need for more flexible space grew \u2014 both for family life and entertaining<\/a> \u2014 she embarked on a thoughtful reconfiguration and expansion.<\/p>\n

The most transformative change on the ground floor was the addition of an airy rear extension. True to Tamsin\u2019s vision, it serves multiple purposes without disturbing the graceful proportions quintessential to a cottage. \u2018I thought long and hard about how to pull together a kitchen, a dining area, somewhere to sit and enjoy the garden, a study and a laundry room,\u2019 the interior designer says. \u2018Eventually, I managed to fit all of that into a relatively small footprint. Anchored by wide French windows framing a view of mature trees<\/a> and swathes of planting, the light-filled living and dining space flows seamlessly into the kitchen. If an appreciation for simplicity guided the fluid layout, the considered use of joinery and furniture placement preserves each area\u2019s distinct identity.<\/p>\n

Tamsin\u2019s garden in full summer bloom.<\/p>\n

Christopher Horwood<\/p>\n

From structural elements to the smallest details, every choice reflects cherished memories and a pursuit of beauty \u2014 often found in the simplest things. \u2018I based the wood panelling on a tiny outbuilding at a friend\u2019s house that I just loved,\u2019 Tamsin says, gesturing to the walls. \u2018The sofa started out as a chaise I found in a market. I adored the legs and it was just the right length, so I had it reupholstered and reshaped the arms. I love having the opportunity to improvise. It means everything ends up completely unique, fulfilling our needs more by good fortune than calculation.\u2019<\/p>\n

A separate little study serves as Tamsin\u2019s workspace. From the window above the desk, she enjoys the ever-changing spectacle of nature, its colours shifting with the seasons. Natural light filters in gently, casting flickering patterns across a densely hung group of botanical drawings. \u2018I found them completely by chance,\u2019 she says. \u2018They\u2019re school drawings, I think from the 1930s, by a girl called Dora Baird \u2014 she even received a certificate of distinction for drawing from memory. Then I came across the simple wooden frames at Rowley in Kensington. They were perfect, and from the same period. That kind of serendipity is what I love most.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first time Tamsin Saunders visited the 1930s cottage that would eventually become her bucolic nest, it wasn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,2737,87365,12327,4022,77,105098,105097,91011,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-278969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-city","11":"tag-city-houses","12":"tag-cottages","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-houses-by-our-top-100-interior-designers-architects","16":"tag-traditional-city","17":"tag-traditional-houses","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}