Calm Corners: five cosy minimalist interiors
The word ‘minimal’ can conjure up images of stark walls and hard surfaces, but taking a pared-back approach to interiors needn’t lack warmth. Here, we’ve looked through our homes for sale, as well as some past highlights to select some of our favourite cosy minimalist interiors, found in such buildings as former workhouse cottages and a converted industrial warehouse.
St Francis House, Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire
“I was seeing trends come and go, which made want to stick with really good quality materials and timeless forms that hold up over the years. You don’t want to regret putting in 18th-century fireplaces – you have to trust they will be right well into the future,” said interior stylist Anna McDougall when we visited her at the elegantly-restrained home she designed for her family in Cambridgeshire.
Her commitment to the well-made keeps what’s in the house creating a tight-edit of quality pieces, matched with age-old materials and a neutral colour scheme. The result is a timeless-feeling interior that, while firmly in the ‘less is more’ camp, is liveable and cosy thanks to tactile textiles, plant life, material contrasts and light-filled spaces.
Warley Close, London E10
You’d be hard-pressed to find many industrial conversions that could be described as cosy but this warehouse in east London manages to make its cavernous interiors feel welcoming and warm. Floor-to-ceiling cupboards sit snugly along the sides, leaving plenty of room for circulation, while the glazed cut-outs in the floor above illuminate the lightly whitewashed walls of exposed brick.
The kitchen worktop runs
efficiently along a single wall and is made of Iroko; an African hardwood that
adds a copper hue to the building’s concise palette. The minimal interventions
leave room for creative activity while including intimate pockets of private
space.
Heron Cottage, Sudbourne, Suffolk
Creating cosy minimalist interiors is not about taking things away, it’s about scrutinising what things bring you happiness and joy at home, including that which improves your wellbeing and saying goodbye to stuff that doesn’t.
At Heron Cottage, a pair of former workhouse cottages in Suffolk, this has been done to beautiful effect. You’ll find no plastic in the kitchen – instead, natural materials like wood, jute and linen form the palette – and elsewhere arrays of found objects, reclaimed lighting, vintage furniture and textiles work with a background comprised of exposed floorboards, beams and wall joists. The effect, we imagine, is a house that feels alive with the intentions and interests of its owners – and if that isn’t cosy, we don’t know what is.
Oscar Piccolo’s flat, London SE18
“This space is full of things that I appreciate as objects… I like that most of what’s here has a story, and isn’t just a collection of pretty things,” said designer Oscar Piccolo when we visited him at home for our My Modern House series.
His compact studio flat calls for a strict
no-clutter policy but nevertheless bears the young designer’s signature
aesthetic thanks to a mix of curvaceous sculptures, earthy tones and pieces
made by his own hand, including the Lampada Cappello lamp. The lesson here is that
a small space doesn’t need to be crowded to feel cosy – having just a few
meaningful pieces is enough to make a house a home.
Louisa Grey’s townhouse, London N4
Interior designer Louisa Grey’s design studio, House of Grey, emphasise high-quality, natural and sustainable materials in their elegantly-simple projects that bring together classic design pieces, craftmanship and a minimal sensibility.
Her home, a refurbished townhouse in north
London, is a realisation of all of those elements, with Louisa opting for
Douglas Fir panelling in the kitchen, bespoke cornicing throughout, and a concentrated
selection of design pieces – such as a Faye Toogood Spade chair and an Atollo
Murano lamp – all curated under a thoughtful eye for detail. A reminder to
spend well on quality, not quantity.
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