Confessions of a Holiday Cottage Stylist: When Homely Goes Too Far

There's a slight occupational hazard to working in holiday cottage styling which is that when you go on holiday, you can never quite switch off.

While most people arrive at their accommodation, unpack their bags and put the kettle on, I find myself mentally rearranging furniture, assessing the lighting and wondering whether a different cushion might work better on the sofa. I don't mean to do it, it just happens!

My recent stay in a holiday cottage in the Lake District was a case in point.

I should start by saying that the cottage was warm, welcoming and undeniably homely, exactly as described. It had a lovely, lived-in feel, and we had a thoroughly enjoyable week. None of the things I'm about to mention was serious enough to spoil our stay, but I couldn't help noticing a few details that got my holiday cottage stylist's brain working overtime.

Fifty Shades of Brown

Brown was very much the dominant theme. Brown furniture, brown fabrics, brown artwork, with a little more brown thrown in for good measure.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with traditional country cottage interiors. In fact, a characterful, slightly old-fashioned cottage can be utterly charming, and I wouldn't necessarily expect a Lake District cottage to look like a contemporary boutique hotel.

The cottage had a comfortable, familiar feel, although I couldn't help imagining how a few fresh colours and updated fabrics might lift the rooms without losing any of that homely character.

Of course, that's easy for me to say. I spend much of my working life looking at rooms and thinking about what I'd change, even when nobody has asked me to.

The Kitchen That Time Forgot

The kitchen was clearly a well-used and well-loved part of the cottage. It was an older painted wooden kitchen, and some of the cupboard doors were showing their age, with chipped paint and marks from years of use, and containing a very random set of mugs that had seen better days. I'm sure the kitchen had been thoroughly cleaned before our arrival, but worn paintwork and stained worktops can make a kitchen look less fresh than it really is.

Some improvements had clearly been made over time. The oven and hob appeared relatively new, and there was a dishwasher, which was very welcome - albeit hidden behind a curtain, the logic of which escaped me.

To be fair, the cupboards were impressively well stocked. If we'd been planning to cook six casseroles simultaneously, we'd have been absolutely fine, as there were enough ovenproof dishes to cater for a small village. Yet somehow, among all this kitchen equipment, there was only one frying pan - not ideal when doing a cooked breakfast for a group of hungry people.

This is exactly the sort of thing that's easy to overlook when you're stocking up a kitchen, you might think you've thought of everything but it takes someone actually using the kitchen to prepare a meal to notice what's missing.

Bacon, Butter and the Missing Bin Bags

One of the nicest touches was the welcome pack. There was bacon, butter, biscuits and other thoughtful treats waiting for us when we arrived. It was a lovely gesture and very much appreciated.

We did, however, find ourselves short of a few more mundane essentials. There were no spare bin liners or dishwasher tablets, and not much washing-up liquid left in the bottle.

So while breakfast was very well catered for, the washing-up arrangements required a little more improvisation.

It's a funny thing, but sometimes the smallest, least glamorous items can make the biggest difference to how easy a property is to stay in.

We'd also been looking forward to lighting the open fire, but the advertised starter supply of coal didn't appear to have been left for us. Not a major problem, of course, although a cosy fire would have been rather lovely on a chilly Lake District evening.

A Good Night's Sleep. In Theory.

If there's one thing I always appreciate when staying away from home, it's a comfortable bed. In this case the mattresses were rather softer than we prefer, and we could feel the springs in places. The pillows were also quite well used and had gone flat, so we didn't sleep quite as comfortably as we'd hoped.

Of course, everyone has different preferences when it comes to mattresses and pillows, and what feels too soft to one person might be just right for someone else.

But it did remind me how much difference good-quality bedding can make to a stay. A decent mattress topper and some new pillows would be a relatively simple way to upgrade the quality of the beds.

The Curious Case of the Outside Loo

The cottage was advertised as having two toilets, which sounded very convenient.

What we hadn't realised was that one of them was outside.

Now, there's something rather charming about an old-fashioned outside loo, particularly in a traditional country cottage. It just came as a bit of a surprise!

The garden was another feature we'd been looking forward to, especially as we were travelling with dogs. Unfortunately it was reached by a steep flight of outdoor steps, which became rather hard to negotiate in wet weather. And being the Lake District, we did encounter a little rain.

Neither of these things was a major problem, but it would have been useful to know about them beforehand. Sometimes a little extra information in a property description can help guests understand exactly what to expect. A floor plan or even a 360 degree matterport are great for helping you see what you are booking before you stay, but not all holiday companies include these as standard.

One Last Thing Before You Leave...

And then there was the departure.

We were asked to leave the cottage clean and tidy, which is entirely reasonable. Nobody should expect to leave their holiday accommodation looking as though a small tornado has passed through.

We were also asked to strip the beds before leaving. Now, I know this is quite common in self-catering accommodation, and I completely understand why. Changeover days are busy, and anything that helps the housekeepers get the property ready for the next guests must be welcome.

But I do wonder whether it's something holiday cottage owners might increasingly want to reconsider.

We'd paid over £900 for our stay, and were asked to leave by 9.30am. With the car to pack, the dogs to organise and the inevitable last-minute search for things we'd managed to hide from ourselves during the week, stripping the beds felt like one extra job on an already busy morning.

Holiday cottages have changed enormously over the years, and many guests now look for some of the comfort and convenience they'd associate with a hotel, alongside the freedom and independence of self-catering accommodation.

Personally, I think leaving a property clean and tidy is a perfectly reasonable expectation, but being able to leave the beds to the housekeepers would be a welcome little luxury.

After all, I can't remember the last time a hotel asked me to strip the bed before checking out.

It's the Little Things

There were a few other small details I noticed during our stay. The occasional wobbly lampshade, some furnishings that were showing their age and little things that might benefit from a refresh.

None of them was particularly important, and we certainly didn't feel the need to raise them with the owners. We had a lovely holiday, and the cottage provided a warm and comfortable base for exploring a beautiful part of the country. But I did find myself mentally compiling a list of things I'd look at if this were a cottage we were helping to prepare for guests.

And that's perhaps the occupational hazard of working in holiday cottage styling. You become rather sensitive to the little details that can make a stay more comfortable and convenient.

At New Leaves, when we're helping owners prepare their holiday properties in the Cotswolds, Sue and I try to look at everything from a guest's point of view. We think about how the rooms will be used, what guests might need during their stay and whether the practical details have been considered alongside the appearance of the property.

Of course, many holiday cottage owners don't live nearby and rely on their housekeepers to keep an eye on things between visits. A good housekeeper can be absolutely invaluable, not only in keeping a property beautifully clean, but in spotting those little things that might otherwise go unnoticed. It's worth making sure they feel able to flag up anything that's missing, damaged or beginning to look tired, and that there's a simple way of reporting it. After all, they're often the people who know the property best and are in the ideal position to notice when something needs attention.

That said, there's still no substitute for occasionally spending a night or two in your own holiday cottage and experiencing it as a guest would. You might be surprised by what you discover.

Our Lake District cottage had plenty going for it, and we enjoyed our stay. With a few small changes and a little fresh attention here and there, I think it could have been even better.

Of course, I probably ought to learn to leave my professional eye at home occasionally - although I'm not entirely sure that's possible! Claire x