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In the event you’ve ever watched The Vacation, poured your self a mug of one thing heat, and sworn that someday you’d disappear right into a tiny Cotswold village to reside your greatest cottage-core life… nicely, permit me to introduce you to your subsequent obsession.
Nestled in in Oxfordshire, a kind of postcard-perfect Cotswolds villages, sits a stone-thatched daydream: The Previous Submit Workplace, an Osborn Interiors masterpiece that feels equal elements storybook and complex sanctuary.
And buddies… this little cottage simply received essentially the most prestigious British Institute of Inside Design award — and the story behind it’s pure pleasure.
A Profession Spotlight: Profitable BIID’s Most Prestigious Award
Osborn Interiors described it completely:
“The spotlight of my profession as we speak as we received essentially the most prestigious @thebiid award for this cottage. I couldn’t consider it! We had been up in opposition to huge competitors and but the judges, which ranged from @elledecorationuk @thetimes to many different establishments, selected our little cottage. They stated the mix of previous & new, the textures, use of supplies, consideration to element, general feeling of soul & depth, is why they selected us, over a whole bunch of different entries… in addition they recognised the problems of working with a grade II listed cottage. I collected the award in floods of tears… I’m utterly overwhelmed and grateful and off to double park some.”
Inform me your coronary heart didn’t soften.A tiny thatched cottage beating out “huge competitors” is the form of underdog win we root for round right here.
A Grade II Listed Treasure, Reborn
Courting again to the 1530s, The Previous Submit Workplace started as simply 4 small rooms and a derelict hooked up barn — charming bones however barely liveable. The entire renovation required ingenuity, respect for historical past, and the form of perseverance that solely comes from designers who’re deeply in love with a constructing.
The group’s guiding philosophy?
To honour each whisper of its previous.
“Our focus was to keep up and spotlight the prevailing historic options of the property, corresponding to the unique stone partitions, low-beamed ceilings, and an inglenook hearth. We used sympathetic design and supplies all through the renovation, corresponding to uncooked timber, pure linen, and a refined palette of impartial colors that each one nod to the tones discovered within the native panorama.”
And once you see the photographs — the nice and cozy stone, the layered textures, the glow of candlelight bouncing off limewashed partitions — you’re feeling that soul they’re speaking about.
Rebuilding Historical past Whereas Making a Residence for At the moment
One of the extraordinary elements of the renovation was the creation of an extension that connects the unique cottage to the barn, remodeling the once-fragmented format right into a seamless, fashionable house.
What the extension now holds:
An exquisite new kitchen with reclaimed timber cladding on its vaulted ceiling
A lightweight-filled eating room framed by Crittall-style doorways
A utility room and boot room (absolute countryside necessities)
As a result of the barn sat barely decrease than the cottage, the group dug down — actually restructuring the bottom itself — to make the ground ranges move naturally. The lowered basis additionally gifted the kitchen a ceiling peak that feels virtually cathedral-like, an sudden luxurious in a centuries-old cottage.
The reclaimed timber cladding from the kitchen ceiling was later echoed within the new main bedroom, making a quiet, cohesive rhythm between previous and new.
The Palette: Earthy, Quiet, Authentically Cotswolds
That includes Osborn Interiors paint in collaboration with Fenwick & Tilbrook, the cottage’s palette is a masterclass in restraint — all chalky whites, stony taupes, mushy soot blacks, and heat pure textures. It looks like stepping right into a hug.
Inside, you’ll discover:
Linen-draped seating nooks
Uncooked woven textures
Weathered woods
Layers of wool and cotton
Historic stone paired with up to date clear strains
It’s the type of inside the place nothing shouts — all the pieces whispers.
The Rooms That Took My Breath Away
The Dwelling Room
A low-beamed cocoon anchored by an inglenook hearth and a contemporary wood-burning range. Candles all over the place. Woven baskets. Softly rumpled textiles. It’s virtually begging you to curve up with a ebook.
The Cozy Cosy
Moody charcoal partitions, a constellation of round mirrors, and plush linen-slipcovered seating. A stormy-evening-movie room if ever there was one.
The Kitchen
A mix of rustic and refined — bleached timbers, pure stone, and natural pendant lights that appear like hand-formed pottery bells.
The Eating Room
Stone partitions, enormous glass doorways that swing open to the backyard, and that enormous woven pendant — the form of room the place each meal feels each informal and ceremonial.
The Grasp Suite
Wrapped completely in reclaimed timber. Gentle, quiet, earthy. You get up on this room and overlook what century it’s.
The Rest room
A sculptural metallic bathtub sits below the pitched, timber-clad ceiling — poetic, serene, someway each medieval and fashionable.
For extra cottage inside design concepts, take a look at:
The Soul of the Cotswolds, Perfected
If a house can really feel like a storybook, a museum, and a contemporary retreat unexpectedly, The Previous Submit Workplace by Osborn Interiors, manages it. It’s respectful with out being valuable, up to date with out shedding its centuries-old soul. And it’s no marvel the BIID judges — from Elle Ornament UK to The Instances — fell for it.
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