A traditional cottage with a modern cottage interior

Would you like to transform your traditional cottage interior to something more modern and wonder how to do it? Or are you planning to build a new cottage with modern touch and wondering what to consider while planning the blueprint? In this article, we are discussing about a modern cottage interior from both aspects.

Many of us know, that the cottage can easily become a place where you take the furnishing items you do not need or want anymore at home. It is good to prolong your old furniture’s use cycle, however, be careful your cottage does not start to resemble a storage room with faulty furnishing and outdated household appliances. The cottage should be a comfortable get-away place where you can always come to relax and enjoy – an oasis away from home.

Refresh the interior of the cottage easily – without a huge budget

First of all, you need to know that you don’t have to buy all-new for the cottage to make it feel more modern and comfortable to be at. Before planning what to get there, start going through every item you already have at your cottage. You might already have more potential items within your reach! Categorize everything into keep, sell and toss or donate. If you see an item with a lot of potential with little paint or new fabric, you might want to keep it.

The interior of the cottage easily consists of different furniture and items from several decades. To be updated on what you have at the cottage, do yearly clean-up. This helps you to check on possible unnecessary items and see if some needs replacement.

Another great way to refresh the cottage interior to more a modern style is to minimize the number of loose items. Decorative elements are beautiful but the windowsills and shelves do not need to be full of them. Instead, embrace empty space. Fewer items also mean fewer dust collectors. Less visible items help also the space feel more clean and tranquil – the feeling that is often looked for at the cottage.

For the future, set yearly cottage clean-up to your calendar. This helps you to stay on your plan when it’s already marked on your calendar.

The power of decorating

The entry is the first thing people will see when stepping into the cottage. If you can’t have closets, add a bench or stools with storage within. This is a good way to hide excessive outwear or garden equipment and create a welcoming space. Ponder also whether all the clothes and garden equipment are necessary to keep at the cottage. You might want to create again the keep, toss and donate -piles.

A quick and easy way to freshen things up is to change the fabric and linen around you, such as curtains and rugs. If you have a traditional cottage and the windows are smaller in size, you can also paint the ceiling, floor, or walls a light color. The light tones reflect the light across the room making it brighter. Painting the large surfaces is a slightly bigger process but most likely it is worth the effort. Wood-colored surfaces have also come back, so you might want to consider the possibility of only sanding and tinting some if not all wooden surfaces. Wooden surfaces are also often quite easy to handle, but when it comes to a more complicated renovation or you are unsure can you manage the bigger DIY project, it is advisable to turn it over to professionals.

Another easy improvement is to change the door handles to fit well with the modern interior style. You can also paint the cabinets with fresh paint. Small details have also a big impact so consider if updating floor trims and electric sockets are something that can modernize the surrounding.

Last but most importantly, remember the power of light, both artificial and natural. Wash and clean your windows and add some lamps that complement the space. Indirect lighting is a common style in modern interior, so give it a try!

Mix traditional and modern interior elements

Modernizing a cottage doesn’t mean you should clear out all the old belongings or avoid any elements that are not new. To mix different interior styles is more than okay! In the end, the main goal is to have fun while planning a cottage interior that brings you joy.

For example, an old beautiful chest can be a magnificent eye-catcher. Rag rugs can also bring coziness to the newly painted floor. If the cover of your old couch is faded but it’s otherwise in good shape and comfortable to sit on, consider upholstering the couch instead of buying a new one. The same applies to the wooden dining table: you can sand and paint to freshen it up.

Building a new modern cottage

If you plan the cottage from scratch, you have more freedom to make decisions on how to achieve the modern cottage vibe. One characteristic of modern cottages is big, floor-to-ceiling, windows that bring a lot of natural light inside. With the help of big windows, even a smaller space appears to be bigger. If the space is going to be small, you might also want to use light-colored tones on the surfaces.

When planning the blueprint of a modern cottage, think following questions:

Who is spending the time at the cottage? A cottage for a family with children requires different interior solutions than a cottage for a retired couple.
How many people are going there at the same time? Estimate how many sleeping places you need to have at the cottage. Think how many people are going to sleep there frequently and add a few extra places for the guests. This helps you determine how many bedrooms you need and do you want to have multifunctional furniture that can be converted into beds for the guests.
Is the cottage for seasonal or all-around-year use? This is an important question already building-wise but it’s good to recognize also when planning a functional layout for the cottage.
What is the main purpose of the cottage? What other activities are done there?
- A garden to take care of? Add some storage space for the equipment.
- A summer home? Create a place that serves you easily even for a longer period of time.
- To host barbeque parties for your family and the nearest? Create a nice garden area, and have enough sleeping places and a larger common area with a big dining table inside the cottage.
How much do you need storage space? Whoever is using the cottage, it’s profitable to have some storage room where unnecessary and seasonal items can be taken to wait for the next usage.
Do you want to rent your cottage? If you plan to rent the cottage in addition to using it on your own, the multifunctionality of the cottage is one of the keywords. Versatile space increases the likelihood of the cottage being rented for different purposes when more sleeping places increase the number of guests staying at your cottage.
Are you going to work from the cottage? Create a dedicated space for your office setup.

A cottage blueprint of Kontio Villa Glass 100 (photo: Kontio)

How to get more sleeping places to your cottage?

In addition to the regular beds, you might want to have some extra sleeping places at the cottage – somewhere the square meters are used even if no one is using them for sleeping. You may have a Murphy bed or a sofa bed in mind, but are a little unsure is it comfortable enough, does it fit well with the interior style chosen for your cottage, or maybe want to find some other multifunctional furniture to solve the problem.

Finnish patent ed multifunctional design innovation TABLEBED, offers one to two additional beds, depending on the product of choice. TABLEBED products combine both table and bed into one piece of furniture. The transformation between table and bed, or vice versa, can be done in 10 seconds.

modern cottage with Tablebed — TABLEBED Double as six person’s dining table

Modern cottage interior with Tablebed — TABLEBED Double as two person’s bed

TABLEBED is a great choice of furniture for spaces where every square meter is desired to use efficiently. The furniture innovation enables the floor coverage to be used around the clock; during the day as a table and at night as a bed. A 140 cm wide bed fits well even in the smaller spaces but still being wide enough for two people to sleep on. Learn more about TABLEBED – the design innovation from Finland.

If you are interested in learning more about how multifunctional TABLEBED can solve different space-related problems in different environments, read Tablebed’s customer case stories.