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Kitchen
Frame-and-panel doors, a worktop in natural stone or solid timber, and the extractor built into a cabinet.
- Closed base units for the clutter
- Open niches or glass at eye level
- Only the range may be on show
Cottage style
Warm, welcoming and authentic.
Almost every country interior contains elements of cottage style. It is the style we have been building longest: from panelling and bookcases to lighting and textiles.
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How to spot a real cottage
Not the separate pieces, but how they stand together.
Cottage is not a collection of loose furniture. Put a rocking chair and an old cabinet in a clean-lined room and you don't get a cottage, you get two pieces of furniture. The atmosphere only appears once the fixed elements join in: the panelling, the ceiling, the cabinetry, the floor and the light.
- Solid oak or pine, matt finished, never high gloss
- Panelling up to 90-110 cm, or to the ceiling in a hallway
- Exposed beams, or a ceiling with applied battens
- Frame-and-panel doors, never flat fronts
- Warm 2700 K light, from several points rather than downlights alone
In the spotlight
Work from our own projects.
A cross-section of what we have furnished over the past years, from country house to penthouse. Hover over the series to stop it, or drag it along yourself.
The timber decides everything
Solid oak, finished in house.
For us cottage starts with solid oak. We finish the timber ourselves with oil or stain, in our own workshop. That way you choose the tone to suit your floor and your light, instead of taking whatever happens to be in stock.
Oil sinks into the timber and keeps the grain tangible; a brushed finish exposes that grain even more. Where a room takes a beating, such as a kitchen, we add a matt lacquer over the stain.
Alongside solid timber we also work with veneer, melamine and lacquered MDF. Which combination it becomes depends on the room, the use and the budget: solid where you touch it, something else where that isn't needed.
The fronts
Four fronts, four different feelings.
The front of your cabinets decides more than the colour does. These are the four we draw in cottage interiors.
Room by room
What works where, and what doesn't.
02
Living room
Here the cabinet wall decides. Without built-in storage a cottage living room quickly becomes a collection of loose furniture.
- Cabinetry around fireplace or television
- One open niche in the middle
- Soft textiles, no taut leather
03
Dining area
A long table in solid timber, with upholstered chairs that soften the sound.
- Chandelier 75-85 cm above the top
- Chairs in plain fabric
- Rug wider than the table
04
Textiles
The final layer, and exactly the one most people skip.
- Wool, linen and boucle
- One pattern per room
- Everything else plain, with texture
House in Overijse A living space in one movement. Ceiling, wall cladding, cabinetry, lighting and seating all came from a single design. That is why the tone of the timber runs right through.
From our projects
Cottage up close.
Where it goes wrong
Cottage turns kitsch in four ways.
01
Too many patterns
Flowers on the curtain, checks on the sofa and stripes on the rug fight each other. Pick one pattern per room.
02
Wrong panelling height
Too low reads as a skirting board, too high presses the room down. We start from the window sill, not from a fixed number.
03
One timber tone everywhere
When floor, cabinet, table and beams are the same brown, the relief disappears. Two clearly different tones work better.
04
Cold light
A single 4000 K level strips the warmth out at once. Several dimmable 2700 K points do more than any piece of furniture.
Cottage isn't about looking old. It is about choosing materials that improve the more you use them.
Cottage or something else
The difference with the neighbouring styles.
Cottage, country, Long Island and contemporary country overlap. This distinction helps you choose.
- Cottage is the warmest and most enclosed: darker timber, panelling, plenty of textiles. Suits older houses and rooms with beams.
- Country is broader and sturdier: larger furniture, more natural stone. Suits spacious homes with high ceilings.
- Long Island is the light variant: white and blue-grey, vertical panelling, plenty of daylight.
- Contemporary country keeps the materials but drops the ornament: flat oak fronts, little profile.
How it works
From first meeting to fitted cabinetry.
01
First meeting
At your home or in the showroom. We measure up and give a first guide price. That meeting costs nothing.
02
Design in 3D
You see your room on screen, with the real materials. Changes happen now, not during installation.
03
Choosing materials
Samples side by side in daylight: timber, stone, fabric, paint.
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Made in our workshop
Cabinets, panelling and bespoke work come from our own workshop. We watch the joints, the grain direction and the tone.
05
Fitting
Our own team fits everything, including lighting and textiles.
Why Marcottestyle
Why cottage works with us.
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01
We think along with you
We don't just carry out orders. We question your layout, measure up and find the solution you hadn't seen. That starts at the very first meeting.
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A complete plan
You don't get a sketch but a dossier: survey drawing, layout plan, bespoke drawings, electrical and lighting plan, material schedule and a detailed quotation per item.
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Everything in 3D first
Photorealistic images of your own room with the real materials. Changing a drawing costs nothing; changing during installation always costs money.
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04
Our own workshop
We make cabinets, panelling and bespoke work ourselves. Whoever draws it knows how it is made, and whoever makes it knows the drawing.
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Our own fitters
Our own team fits, adjusts and finishes. No arguments between designer, supplier and fitter.
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First meeting free
Introduction, survey and an honest guide price cost you nothing. Only then do you decide.
Related styles
More directions within country living.
Frequently asked questions
About decorating in cottage style.
What does a cottage interior cost?
A fully furnished room usually lands between 15,000 and 21,000 euros, including bespoke work, furniture, lighting and textiles. The spread is wide because solid timber, natural stone and the amount of bespoke work weigh heaviest. At the first meeting you receive a guide price free of charge.
Does cottage work in a new-build?
Yes, but then the fixed elements have to do the work. In a new-build without beams or niches we draw the relief in ourselves: panelling, a battened ceiling, cabinetry with frame and panel. Without those, it stays loose furniture in a plain box.
Can cottage work in an apartment?
Certainly. Our project in Ghent is an apartment. There we work lighter: less dark timber, more off-white and linen, and panelling only where it doesn't narrow the room.
How long does it take?
That depends entirely on the scale and the materials. We only give a deadline once the design is fixed, because promising a date before the choices are made is meaningless.
Do I have to do everything at once?
No. Many clients start with one room and extend later. Because we keep the design and the material choices, a second phase still matches years later.
Can you work with existing furniture?
Yes. Pieces you want to keep are drawn into the 3D design, so you can see beforehand whether they hold their own beside the new work.
Do you also do panelling only?
That's possible. Panelling is often the starting point of a cottage interior and works on its own too, for instance in a hallway or along a staircase.
Can I see it somewhere?
Yes, our showrooms hold cottage settings with the real materials. Laying samples side by side in daylight says more than any photograph.
25years of experience
1500designs drawn
0 %fee on the design
4,7out of five on Google
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