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Cottagecore: New Countryside Living -
Life Inside a Cottage -
Wild Isle Style: Resourceful and Sustainable Interior Design Ideas
With cottagecore showing no sign of packing its basket and departing on its vintage bicycle, we focus on three books that showcase this charming decor trend.
WORDS Robyn Alexander PHOTOS Ethan Herrington/Cottagecore, Elliot Sheppard/Life Inside a Cottage, Alex Baxter/Wild Isle Style, Supplied
Cottagecore: New Countryside Living
by Gestalten Editors (Gestalten, 2025)
From a remote, converted goat shelter in Ireland to a 19th-century farmhouse in France and a revived 1842 sandstone dwelling in Tasmania, the cottages featured in this visually driven book carry the imprint of both their rural environs and their inhabitants’ highly cultivated sensibilities. Beguiling in a variety of ways, the spaces range in aesthetic from airy, minimalist and contemporary to more layered and cosy. What they have in common is a similar approach to living in the countryside – one that prioritises mood and atmosphere over a single visual style. gestalten.com
Life Inside a Cottage
by Nell Card and Rachel Vere (Hardie Grant, 2026)
Subtitled “Interior inspiration from today’s cottage dwellers”, this beautiful compendium of cottages from around the world does exactly what it says on the tin – and we’ll be surprised if you don’t immediately wish to depart your urban dwelling for something cottage- like while perusing it. Life Inside a Cottage also delivers on the promise in its title by exploring practical things such as thatching, the making of a cottage garden and the everyday challenges of living in this sort of space. But of course, it’s really all about the spectacular visuals of cottage-style buildings, which run the gamut from award-winning designs in Wales to Japanese woodland escapes. publishing.hardiegrant.com
Wild Isle Style: Resourceful and Sustainable Interior Design Ideas
by Banjo Beale (Quadrille, 2023)
Banjo Beale won the BBC reality show Interior Design Masters in 2021, and lives on the remote Scottish island of Mull. This (his first book) is more of a guide to finding your own interior styling preferences than it is an instruction manual showing you how to recreate his look. That said, fans of the foraged, the second-hand and the upcycled will discover a kindred spirit here, and there’s plenty of inspiration for anyone looking to make their home feel cosier and more cottage-like. Plus, Beale has a wonderful way with texture in interiors and a keen eye for memorable detail, so you’ll find loads of ideas for both those elements too. penguin.co.uk
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