Decorating
Small Space Living: How to do Country Manor Style in a Small Urban Home
Don’t let the size of your pad constrict your ambition. Borrow style ideas and motifs from the classic country manor and try them yourself
Country houses have space on their side. Think land, views, big rooms and lots of them! So how can the design details of a classic manor work in a modest urban home? With a little imagination, the answer is: really well.
Sourcing the signature ingredients but in a scaled-down format works, as does rethinking overlooked space. And don’t forget, however small your home, there’s always room for reinterpreting tradition. Here’s how…
Sourcing the signature ingredients but in a scaled-down format works, as does rethinking overlooked space. And don’t forget, however small your home, there’s always room for reinterpreting tradition. Here’s how…
Make a mini boot room
When you have been tramping across your grounds all morning with your trusty Labrador by your side, it’s good to kick off muddy wellies and hang up a wet coat in a dedicated boot room.
Mere mortals can copy the boot-room effect by dedicating one side of a hallway or corner of a porch to boots, coats and outdoor essentials. Add hooks and a basket for shoes and consider defining this section with a darker wall colour, to give it a strong identity.
When you have been tramping across your grounds all morning with your trusty Labrador by your side, it’s good to kick off muddy wellies and hang up a wet coat in a dedicated boot room.
Mere mortals can copy the boot-room effect by dedicating one side of a hallway or corner of a porch to boots, coats and outdoor essentials. Add hooks and a basket for shoes and consider defining this section with a darker wall colour, to give it a strong identity.
Install a butler’s sink
OK, so you don’t have an actual butler, as a real manor house resident might, but you can at least have his sink. Individual old-fashioned taps, rather than a mixer, are a great addition and ramp up the traditional feel.
OK, so you don’t have an actual butler, as a real manor house resident might, but you can at least have his sink. Individual old-fashioned taps, rather than a mixer, are a great addition and ramp up the traditional feel.
Tweak tradition
Manor houses in years gone by might have been adorned with trophies from the hunt – skulls and antlers, plus odd bits of taxidermy – and you can reference this in an irreverent way by sourcing similar pieces from vintage shops. Or try contemporary faux versions from new designers.
Manor houses in years gone by might have been adorned with trophies from the hunt – skulls and antlers, plus odd bits of taxidermy – and you can reference this in an irreverent way by sourcing similar pieces from vintage shops. Or try contemporary faux versions from new designers.
Cook up some kerb appeal
Manor houses often have large grounds and a handsome approach, but you can big up your home’s entrance without owning several acres. How about a pair of bay trees by the front door? They bring classic elegance to even a humble entrance, but equally would not look out of place flanking the portico of a stately home.
Manor houses often have large grounds and a handsome approach, but you can big up your home’s entrance without owning several acres. How about a pair of bay trees by the front door? They bring classic elegance to even a humble entrance, but equally would not look out of place flanking the portico of a stately home.
Create a petite pantry
In a spacious manor house, a separate pantry for storing food would adjoin the kitchen. Few of us have room to replicate this, but the clever kitchen seen here produces the same effect simply with a partition. This separates the main food prep area from the food storage and hot drinks station. It’s a clever way to create zones within a small kitchen.
Get tips on how to organise the perfect pantry
In a spacious manor house, a separate pantry for storing food would adjoin the kitchen. Few of us have room to replicate this, but the clever kitchen seen here produces the same effect simply with a partition. This separates the main food prep area from the food storage and hot drinks station. It’s a clever way to create zones within a small kitchen.
Get tips on how to organise the perfect pantry
Factor in a real fire
Nothing beats sitting by a roaring fire and it’s a great way to bring a little manor house ambience into your living space. Mini wood-burning stoves are widely available to fit even small fireplaces in little urban homes.
Nothing beats sitting by a roaring fire and it’s a great way to bring a little manor house ambience into your living space. Mini wood-burning stoves are widely available to fit even small fireplaces in little urban homes.
Add a small range cooker
Used for cooking and heating, traditional range cookers are often found in country house kitchens, but small versions are available for more compact homes. They come in designs that burn wood, solid fuel or gas, and in lots of different colours, plus they offer a whole host of benefits. For example, 70 per cent of every Rayburn is made from recycled materials, such as lampposts and old cookers. Fact!
Browse 15 ways to make your home look more expensive
Used for cooking and heating, traditional range cookers are often found in country house kitchens, but small versions are available for more compact homes. They come in designs that burn wood, solid fuel or gas, and in lots of different colours, plus they offer a whole host of benefits. For example, 70 per cent of every Rayburn is made from recycled materials, such as lampposts and old cookers. Fact!
Browse 15 ways to make your home look more expensive
Sleep in a four-poster
Grand beds are very much part of the manor house tradition and a four-poster feels both handsome and slightly decadent. You might not have considered one if your home is more mini than manorial, but just as a double bed fits into most regular bedrooms, so too does a four-poster. So if you fancy a touch of stately luxury in your sleep space, why not slot one in?
Grand beds are very much part of the manor house tradition and a four-poster feels both handsome and slightly decadent. You might not have considered one if your home is more mini than manorial, but just as a double bed fits into most regular bedrooms, so too does a four-poster. So if you fancy a touch of stately luxury in your sleep space, why not slot one in?
Build a library
Most manor houses and country piles have whole rooms devoted to books. If you lack the space for that, get the effect by lining a corner with bookcases for an enclosed, library-ish feel. Add an armchair, so you can sit and read, but feel free to play with tradition by working in colour or funky accessories.
TELL US…
Have you incorporated any manor house elements into your home? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
Most manor houses and country piles have whole rooms devoted to books. If you lack the space for that, get the effect by lining a corner with bookcases for an enclosed, library-ish feel. Add an armchair, so you can sit and read, but feel free to play with tradition by working in colour or funky accessories.
TELL US…
Have you incorporated any manor house elements into your home? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
Don’t have oil paintings of your ancestors to put up around your place? No problem! You can channel that very manor house habit of hanging the relatives on the wall by finding old portraits at vintage fairs. So what if they aren’t actually related to you?
To find good places to browse, IACF (International Antiques & Collectors Fairs) has a nationwide calendar of the biggies, but flea markets and car-boot sales may also be your friends.