How They Transformed a 200-Year-Old Cottage

Rose Winter emigrated from Great Britain to Australia as a child. She always loved green hills and valleys, and later developed a passion for French countryside style.

Candelabras in the dining room are decorated with ivy and berries.

In the village of Ridgel, where each year in early September the narcissus festival is held, Rose found an old house built in the 1860s.

Even in its dilapidated state, I immediately saw the potential. But I brushed off the idea of restoration like a persistent fly and went home. The kitchen now has a small wine cellar in the place where there used to be a fireplace. Abundance of small decor highlights the cottage style.

Soon, Rose came across this very cottage in a property guide. Despite her doubts, she decided to buy it. That’s when the long and sometimes difficult work of renovation began. An inspection of the building revealed that the house retained a solid frame, but restoring the interior was not easy.

The only clue was the original shape of the house, which defined its character. Everything else was pure imagination.The former dining room, now the living room, tastefully furnished with antiques. Take a look at these handcrafted shutters.

Rose and her children practically demolished and rebuilt the house from scratch. For example, the modernized kitchen now features a new tiled roof made of corrugated iron.

At times, the scale of the renovation overwhelmed the new homeowner.

There was an old log in the yard where I often sat and cried.

But any difficulties can be overcome: today the house is fully renovated and restored. French doors, new dormer windows, and mirrors completely transformed the dark interior and added light.

Rose's love for France inspired her choice of color when it came time to paint the walls.

After six months of intense work, Rose moved into the house and started gardening. From a weed-infested yard, she transformed it into a fairy-tale green land. Today the garden is full of roses and deciduous trees: silver birch, wild, and spreading willow.

When I am in the garden among the finches and little wrens and watch roses bloom, I feel true happiness.

Rose’s cottage is considered the oldest house in Ridgel village. To preserve this memory, she left several boards untouched that were used to clad the house from the beginning, and treated the new ones in the same style.

Few places like Ridgel remain today.

Rose Winter now lives in her dream home. She raises chickens, grows herbs and vegetables. On Sundays, she plays the organ in a small local church.