For almost three years, India Serlin and her family have been busy turning a former 17th-century farm and hamlet in the Cornish countryside into a charming retreat. Cottage Orne officially opened this week, with 14 spaces that retain echoes of the site’s history.
Serlin worked with Studio Alexandra (Glebe House, Devon) on the design of each building, pulling inspiration from “a romantic architectural movement in the early 1900s” – that is, “cottage orné”, which loosely translates as “decorated cottage” – “where cottages were intentionally designed to look quaint, rustic and charming, yet were often heavily stylised and decorated”, she says. Guests can book more than a dozen spaces, each with its own identity, including shepherds huts; one-, two- and three-bedroom cottages; and a house that sleeps 14. Each cottage’s name informs its design: handpainted waves in the Mariner’s Cottage and black accents in the Blacksmith’s Cottage, for example. Other references to the area’s history come through in a reassembled stone archway from Plymouth dockyard, and original ceiling hooks dangling in a cottage that was once a dairy.
Bold patterns and vibrant colours run through each space, with wallpaper from House of Hackney and Living Quarters, and lighting from Matilda Goad and Munro & Kerr. Some cottages boast woodfired stoves and private firepits, and others have Japanese-style outdoor woodfired baths and private gardens. While the cottages are a short drive to south-east Cornwall’s beaches and villages, each stay (barring the Shepherd’s Hut, which has a kitchenette) has a proper kitchen for preparing meals. In the coming months, an on-site pantry shop stocking locally made products will open.
Serlin’s intention for Cottage Orne was to create a retreat that “had all the comfort and cosiness of your own home, while also offering something more holistic – a space where guests could truly relax and unwind in their own way”. So, though each space is self-contained, guests are also encouraged to congregate in the Village Green – what Serlin calls the “heart of the hamlet” – where she plans to have food trucks pop up throughout the summer. There’s also an outdoor swimming pool, which is heated from May until September and used as a cold-plunge during the cooler months; saunas with views across the surrounding meadows; and a treatment hut offering facials, massages and restorative therapies. A fully equipped gym with a yoga deck is soon to come, as is a tennis court. And in the future, an art studio will host workshops ranging from painting and sketching to creative writing and floristry.
Ultimately, a stay at Cottage Orne is intended to be something of a choose-your-own-adventure. “We want the experience to feel nurturing rather than prescriptive,” Serlin says.
