Our Welsh Cottage and Garden

Welcome to Our Cottage

We have been living in our Welsh cottage for 18 years, slowly renovating it while living here. Back in 2007, we began our adventure, transforming a tired little cottage into the gorgeous and happy home it is today.

We believe the cottage is around 350 years old, possibly parts of it dating back to the early 1700s. Records only go back so far, so we'll probably never know for certain. What we do know is that it had been neglected in parts and needed a lot of TLC when we arrived.

It's taken a great deal of time, effort, and care to get it to where it is now. Our cottage is a huge part of our lives and we are proud to look after it for the time we are here!

The Living Room

We will start with what might be the best view of the cottage, the living room - the heart of the home. The inglenook fireplace is the centerpiece, just as it would have been in centuries past when it served for both cooking and heating.

Many original features had been hidden away under plywood and plasterboard, but we have carefully brought them back to life, blending the old with a few modern comforts. The previous owners had laid a laminate floor which didn't hold up to the damp conditions.

Our trusty builders removed the old floor and added drainage inside and out. We sourced reclaimed flagstones from three different locations in West Wales. A farm 20 miles away, an old school in New Quay and a former mens outfitters shop in Lampeter.

Some slabs were up to three inches thick and incredibly heavy, but the end result is everything we hoped for. It looks like it's always been there and in many ways it has.

Restored Windows and Breathable Walls

This photo shows Lily looking out through one of our old sash windows lovingly restored by Nicholas. At one point the walls were sealed with thick cement, but we have now allowed them to breathe again by removing all of the cement from inside.

It's a peaceful spot for us and Lily's favorite place to keep tabs on the world outside!

Kitchen Transformation

Our kitchen today is a world away from what it was when we moved in. We uncovered the original chimney breast, removed thick layers of cement and pointed the stonework by hand.

The floor is laid with reclaimed slate flagstones and we crafted a new ceiling between exposed wooden joists, even sourcing reclaimed beams to replace missing ones. We also installed a wooden kitchen to complete the space.

Welsh Cottage at Christmas

Wales is known for its rain. It is fair to say we probably get, on average, about two metres of rain per year — that is around 6.5 feet. Anyone got a snorkel? Winters here in Wales are certainly wet, but that just makes our cottage feel even cosier in the middle of it all — especially with the fire glowing and the Christmas tree sparkling.

Some years we have travelled to visit family over the festive season, but it has never quite felt right. Our cottage is the kind of place you want to escape 'to' for the holidays. As you can see from the photo taken in 2023, we absolutely love our decorations!

When Christmas Eve arrives and the stockings are hung, this becomes the most magical place on the planet and yes... Lily always gets a stocking. Santa always seems to know the treats and toys that she loves!

Garden Transformation Since 2007

When we moved in, the garden was a simple rectangular lawn bordered by overgrown shrubs and hedgerows. We later bought a piece of unused land from our neighbor both to the side and below us.

It was a tangled mess of brambles, nettles, broken logs, and old slate. Clearing it was no small task, but it opened up a world of possibility. The transformation has been slow and steady, 18 years of hard work and it's still evolving.

One of our favorite additions is the little wildlife pond we restored. It's now home to frogs, newts, water boatmen and plenty of pond snails.

Cottage Garden

So this is the same view 18 years later. Luckily we were able to purchase a little extra garden from a neighbour a few years after moving in, which is below and to the side of the view you see here. So we decided to gravel this whole area at the top and added a picket fence to split the garden. The lawn area below, the top area for entertaining and less maintenance. We have also been working on naturalizing our little pond, encouraging it to become a proper wildlife haven. We added a beautiful waterlily a couple of years ago and it flowers all summer long. It’s a peaceful corner of the garden and seeing it flourish with a bit of care and time has been really rewarding.

The flowers in pots are great as I can move them around depending on what's in flower and I also keep the more delicate plants in the greenhouse over the winter.

Lawned Cottage Garden

When you walk down the garden past the graveled area, this is the view you are met with. It has taken A LOT of work to get it like this. When we purchased the space it was all overgrown with brambles, fallen trees, piles of slate from an old roof etc.

It took years of cultivating to get it as it is today. We had tree surgeons in on multiple occasions to fell old Ash trees that sadly had Ash die-back. Some we were able to save thankfully. I love being surrounded by trees!

You can see our art studio, nestled quietly at the bottom beneath the trees. This is where we work on a daily basis. If we aren't at the cottage, you will find us in here either drawing, painting or writing this website!

Our garden is a slice of heaven. It's peaceful, lush and one of those spaces that changes character with the seasons.

Garden Life Through the Seasons

I've always loved growing plants, though I'll admit it's a challenge here in Wales! Our summers are short, the rain is plentiful and the sun often plays hard to get. That said, when we do get a stretch of dry weather, the garden comes alive and it's all worth the wait.

This is what the side of the garden looks like, which used to be the bottom of our garden until we purcahsed more in 2011. As you can see it is a huge difference to the 2007 version. We replaced the old shed with with three hand built custom woodsheds which in 2024 when this photo was taken were full! The old 10 foot half chopped down larch trees that used to be on the left, eventually fell down in the storms of 2023.

So we removed the old tree stumps and replaced it with better fencing and a small greenhouse thanks to my dad. This photo is early in the season and things are a lot more overgrown now. The wooden lattice fence is covered in honeysuckle.

I always think of this as the working part of the garden, as in the winter we are always up and down with the wheel barrow getting logs in every few days, come rain or shine!

Chickens in the Garden

I have always owned chickens, since I was a child, we have had poultry so i couldn't imagine living without a few hens roaming the garden. We have a dedicated area down the bottom of the garden where they can roam freely under the trees and bushes, which keeps lovely and cool even on the hottest of days.

They have an electric fence to keep out the foxes and an inner run to keep them safe during early mornings and evenings. They are very comical and Lily enjoys it when they come out to roam the garden. If she is lucky she gets to sniff them when they aren't looking!

I hope you have enjoyed finding out more about where we live. I often share seasonal snapshots in our personal blogs on our Blog.

If you haven't visited yet, do pop over for a peek, especially if you're partial to a bit of cottage garden charm.