Fantasy properties are shared frequently on this site, and it’s not always a cake walk to uncover actionable ideas for those of us living with realistic budgets. However, once in awhile, a fantasy project will feel sufficiently down to earth. Here’s a lovely 1941 seaside Cape Cod style cottage with timeless English country charm. Let’s tour it and see how Farrow & Ball All White beautifully creates calm inside.
Cape Cod Style Malibu Cottage
Vogue Living Australia/Photography: Caylon Hackwith; Styling: Avi Brosh and Kirsten Leigh Pratt of Palisociety
White Cape Cod Style California Cottage
The seaside setting for “Sea Level House” is quite dreamy. This home is located near Lechuza Beach.
I was surprised to see the homeowner make the unusual decision to preserve the original Cape Cod style property rather than build a fancy new mansion! The residence includes a two-story main house and a one-bedroom detached guest house. The home’s relatively modest square footage (3,000 total) is half the size of a small mansion.
It likely doesn’t surprise you that I’m a big fan of the white painted exterior! All that luscious snowy white continues inside too. But which white?
Farrow & Ball ALL WHITE in a White Malibu Cottage
We took a deep dive into Farrow & Ball colors including this pale and lovely gem:
It’s hard to beat this interior color story when you’re after a breezy coastal chic mood, informality, timelessness, vintage charm, and English country sensibility.
You can see in the living room how texture becomes the “color” in the space. From the brick, to the wood clad ceiling and walls, to the nubby upholstery and woven accents, English country cottage vibes exude comfort and ease.
How does inspiration drawn from such a home as this benefit those of us without a beachy cottage? For me, it is about noticing how the interiors were layered and composed. Have a console table to style? Notice the mix of vintage and new, the casual leaning dog painting. Also notice how pops of navy appear.
What views!
English Countryside Charm in a Kitchen
Soft sage green on the kitchen cabinetry has such an organic, earthy, nurturant vibe and is so perfect for a nature-centric cottage.
All white kitchens (a la Something’s Gotta Give) are endlessly popular and easy to love, but the addition of green introduces an earthy element of lovely presence. Like the skirting as much as I do? What hides behind the curtain? It’s a wonderful idea to break up a line of cabinets, to keep shelves less dusty, and to introduce another texture. While the windows and doors here appear to be original, imagine adding old hardware to new ones!
There isn’t a monstrous center island in the kitchen. A sensibly-sized peninsula provides seating and workspace and won’t seem dated in a few years.
It is worth noting that none of the interiors feel stuffy. There’s a lot to unpack in that discussion alone. When the guiding principle of a home’s interior design is to bring comfort at the start and end of workdays, does formality and fussy-ness belong? Give me glorious, understated quietude allllll day.
Built-ins & Millwork
Unpretentious and understated style often entails SERIOUS design savvy to arrive at such sophisticated simplicity!
You can see how each layer of the design (millwork, upholstery, furnishings, art) feels thoughtful and breezy.
Isn’t the relationship of the dining room, kitchen, and living area lovely?
A muddy green paint color shows up again, and should we take a guess at what it is? It reminds me of Lichen:
But it could be Vert De Terre:
Farrow & Ball paints are perfect if you’re after a more authentic English country look. Always a wise idea to sample a few colors in your unique space with its unique lighting conditions.
Painted Paneling for Beachy Cottage Charm
This home’s beautiful painted wood and doors are a reminder how important it is to get the envelope right.
Most of us begin with drywall (or plaster if we’re lucky!) on the walls and ceilings.
The addition of tongue and groove, beaded board, and wood paneling sets a comforting, casual, historic tone that is not easily achieved in another way.
If you have yet to live with such texture and your home lends itself to the addition, perhaps start with one accent wall.
A powder bath or spare bedroom, for example. From there, you can decide whether to keep going.
In the bedroom above, there’s texture on the wood ceiling and adjoining bath, while the walls remain smooth. It’s a reminder of how we often we neglect ceilings in American homes. When you consider a ceiling’s importance within a bedroom, it’s a shame!
In spite of the tone on tone, I could stare at the bath above forever. Classic, traditional, timeless, serene, luxurious, and lovely. I just want my whole home to feel like that loo.
Modern Luxuries Mix With 1940s Architecture
This home was renovated to be suitable for modern living, and quite often this means stealing space from small extra rooms in order to expand a bath.
Materials for the “new” can be classic and suggestive of days gone by!
I think a common mistake made by renovators is adding trendy tiles and strokes in the bath that feel disjointed from the balance of the home. What a bonus when harmony flows through rooms and even outdoors.
The simplicity of the bath above is pleasing since it serves modern needs and won’t seem silly in decades to come.
Decorating & Accessories
The art and decorations are so beautifully displayed, and there’s much we can take away from the curation and styling.
Whether it’s a framed vintage scarf, a tassel or an old cast iron doorstop, such touches make a house a home.
Colors and scale matter, but their personality and subject matter don’t need to make sense to anyone but you.
While this white Malibu cottage may not be rentable, we can be guests at similar properties imagined by these homeowners since they are the aesthetes behind bespoke hotel brand Palisociety, specializing in one-of-a-kind accommodation on the West Coast.
Hmmmmm. Could I make a career from staying at boutique hotels soaking up cottage cozy design energy? Wait. Would I be competing with every other influencer on the earth who seems to be doing that at the moment?
More Cottage Decorating Resources
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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