GALATEA

Location: Saddleworth, UK

Year: 2024 – present

Scope: Full Interior Design & Renovation

Type: Private residential

Photography: Courtesy of Galatea Studio

Nestled within the stone villages of Saddleworth, Orchards Cottage is a complete interior renovation for a young couple seeking to reimagine their countryside home with warmth, craftsmanship, and contemporary ease. The brief was to retain the soul of the traditional English cottage — its sense of intimacy, texture, and charm — while infusing it with a sculptural, modern sensibility.

Across two bedrooms, a study, and an open living kitchen, the design merges tactile tradition with quiet modernity. Bespoke joinery and hand-finished materials pay homage to heritage craft, while clean-lined silhouettes and curated forms lend a sense of timeless calm. The kitchen anchors the home, defined by a custom arched hood, honed stone surfaces, and handcrafted ironwork stools. Throughout, skirted furnishings, tweeds, linens, and wool soften the architectural geometry, creating a dialogue between old and new.

The living room centres around a sculptural marble fireplace — the home’s focal point and emblem of Galatea’s approach: balance, material integrity, and emotional resonance. A reinterpreted chequered floor links the cottage’s classical bones with its refined new palette, while layers of natural texture — boucle, oak, plaster — introduce depth and quiet warmth.

Designed as a retreat from fast-paced modern life, Orchards Cottage embodies a new kind of rural sophistication: one rooted in craftsmanship, restraint, and the enduring beauty of considered design.