D I A LO G U E
the locale. “What I say about my properties in Port Isaac is that they are nautical, but they are nautical with a modern twist,” Anouska explains.
loved the community, we loved how beautiful it was – everything about it – so we immediately began searching for a holiday home there. It did take a while,” she admits, explaining “I wanted the classic ‘chocolate box’ cottage”.
As an example, we’ll move onto Rose Cottage. Despite initially missing the sale, as they forged ahead with the renovation of Hillside, Anouska and Greig received a call from north Cornwall property agents, John Bray, to say that the sale of the cottage they’d originally fallen in love with, had fallen through. “That’s how we’ve ended up with two!”
hey urchased their rst ort saac home, called illside, in 2 1 , but it wasn t their rst choice. Anouska and Greig had previously looked at another called Rose Cottage, and had even booked to go and see it. “Our heart was already set on it, but as we were driving down for the viewing, we had a call from the agency to say it had sold.”
Nods to the nautical can be found throughout Rose ottage, including green and in sh, as o osed to the traditional blue, but not ust that. nous a and Greig were also keen to complement the location by supporting local industry, and when designing Rose Cottage (and, in fact, Hillside), Anouska explains: “I used all Cornish tradesmen; I wanted to source the art from Cornish artists, and the fabrics from Cornish producers.”
Disappointed, but ultimately determined to continue their search for a home in Port Isaac, they instead found and bought Hillside cottage, and embarked on its complete renovation. At this point, I think it’s fair to say that Anouska’s design style is a far cry from the usual whites, blues and boats that characterise a large proportion of Cornwall’s seaside homes. And she wasn’t about to change her approach for Hillside. “I wanted to show people in Cornwall that you don’t have to be scared of colour. In ort saac, illside was ust so different, and it really got people talking. It opened up their eyes to stepping outside of their comfort zone, to create something that’s really exciting.”
But Rose Cottage was never destined to simply repeat what had made Hillside so successful. In fact, having had such an overwhelming response to Hillside, Anouska decided that Rose Cottage was her chance to take things even further. “I wanted to step it up and see how far I could go with my style. It’s a lot edgier,” she laughs, highlighting details such as neon lights, quirky artwork and vintage accessories, and a beautiful art mural that’s been turned into a wallpaper.
Anouska’s belief is that “your home should make you happy”, particularly a holiday home. “You need to wake up and feel alive – surrounded by colours that make you happy. It should be a place that you can escape from reality.” The same is true for those letting their homes out to holidaymakers. “Just make it fun. People that stay in holiday homes aren’t there day in, day out – it’s an escape from the norm. You have to ta e them to a different lace. hat s why use bright colours – because I want to break the rules that everybody else lives by.”
In fact, Anouska has taken it so far that it might surprise you to learn that Rose Cottage (and Hillside) are currently listed as holiday lets! Available to rent through John Bray Cornish olidays, the goal, reveals nous a, is to offer something unique to those seeking something a little different during their stay by the sea. “Appealing to the masses, I probably would have calmed it down a little bit, but because we want it to be our forever home, it was like ‘well this is who we are, this is who I am as a designer. f you love it, brilliant, come and en oy it, and if you don t, that s ne, because it s going to be our home anyway.”
The result at Hillside is staggering, and while the interiors may be seen to contrast with the seasca es and maritime heritage that de ne ort Isaac, they do, in their own way, complement
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