Nostalgic HIDEAWAY

This cosy Cornish cottage is full of timeless style

Come springtime, many areas along the Cornish coastline are bracing themselves for the first wave of holidaymakers. But in the village of Gunwalloe, daily life continues on at its usual steady pace. ‘Even when we move into summer, not much changes here,’ says Beth Tarling, whose home overlooks the bay of Fishing Cove. Beth and her husband, Dan, live in one of the last cottages on the road before it peters out into a sandy track down to the sea. ‘Next stop, America,’ she jokes.

This beautifully secluded vantage point may escape the attention of most day-trippers, but Gunwalloe is a place where the weather has always held sway – for today’s inhabitants, as much as former fishing and farming communities. ‘Dan’s family has owned this property for many years, so he warned me to brace myself for the wind,’ Beth explains. ‘And he was right – sometimes you can barely stand up against the force of it.’

But as winter gives way to spring, the wind drops and the sun lights up the

‘The style of this home combines functional with comfortable’

landscape. ‘I love it here all year round,’ she adds. ‘It’s a truly wild place.’

Beth and Dan have gradually turned Sea View Cottage into a home that’s in tune with its timeless setting, decorating it in a style that combines functional with comfortable. Beth has even found a way to compensate for the fact that the strong, salt-laden winds make it hard to grow plants in the small garden at the front of the house. ‘I made the second living area more of a garden room, as the sun streams down through a skylight, so you almost feel as if you are outside while remaining sheltered from the elements,’ she says.

The plants that flourish in this garden room are echoed in fabrics and paint colours elsewhere in the cottage. In the kitchen, the cabinets are painted a pale, 1950s green that matches the heritage shade of Beth’s collection of Beryl Ware crockery, while Laura Ashley checks in a muted sage have been used at the windows and for some cushions.

Beth wanted to decorate the cottage with pieces that conjured up a mood of old-fashioned simplicity, so she headed to charity shops, trawled ebay and even visited a recycling centre near her mother’s home in Hampshire, which sells classic pieces of furniture that still have life left in them. ‘Car-boot sales are good for finding old books, which really do furnish a room,’ she says. Rows of hardbacks describing tales of derring-do or the escapades of the Famous Five add to the nostalgic feel of this coastal bolthole. ‘Well-loved books become part of a house. You might not notice them, but they still contribute to a home’s character.’

The bedding here also has a vintage air. ‘The Laura Ashley aesthetic has always been a great source of

inspiration for me,’ says Beth, who worked for the company for over 20 years, creating shop-floor displays. ‘The beauty of Laura Ashley is that the newer designs still work with the older ones,’ she adds.

Beth has extended the life of some beloved curtains that she couldn’t bear to lose by backing them with plain cotton. ‘The new fabric faces out towards the elements, and we get to enjoy the vintage pattern for a little while longer,’ she explains.

Warmth and comfort radiate from the rooms of this remote cottage.

‘As the evenings get longer and lighter, we often head down to the sea to catch a fish for our supper and barbecue it on the beach,’ Beth says. ‘It’s a lovely way to remind ourselves of everything that’s so special about living here.’

• Sea View Cottage is available to rent on Airbnb

READING NOOK A window seat and rustic bench helped turn this walk-through space into a comfortable corner.

There is a narrow lane that leads from the main village of Gunwalloe down past Sea View Cottage and finally to the beach

FEATURE WALL Family heirlooms and fishing rods are kept in the entrance hall. The handprints in the plaster were made by Dan’s sons, Sam and Joe.

Trolitiist, tempore rendam KITCHEN DESIGN Beth and Dan painted the cupboard doors in a soft green that echoes the shade of classic ceramics for a nostalgic and practical kitchen. Dan is a skilled carpenter and built the cabinets and added worktops to secondhand carcasses for a deliberate vintage feel. The wall lights are from Laura Ashley. TOP CASE A traveller’s trunk works well as a coffee table in the living room. COAST HEROES Vintage finds, many with a reference to Cornwall and the local area, mix with nautical pieces.

CHECK THIS OUT Beth stapled Laura Ashley and John Lewis fabrics to simple plywood window shutters in the main bedroom and used the remainder for cushion covers. The print is by Raymond Wintz. WARM WELCOME A Cath Kidston duvet fits the gentle mood in the guest bedroom. The curtains are vintage.

WATER COLOURS Scenic prints in the hallway are by Donald Greig, while the decorative boat is a car-boot find.

BATHROOM BASICS The sails on this boat in the bathroom were replaced by Dan’s mother using an old cotton shirt. Dan added the tongue-and-groove panelling and painted it a nautical blue.

ALL IN THE DETAIL George, the Jack Russell Terrier, appreciates Beth’s eye for mixing vintage and contemporary fabrics.