This Long Island Cottage Is the Perfect Family Getaway
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“It was just the sweetest little cottage," says Lilly Bunn of the Locust Valley home she and her family bought as a weekend getaway—but ended up spending far more time in after the onset of last year's COVID-induced lockdowns. Luckily for the family, Bunn had turned the residence into a welcoming retreat in record time, sprucing up the 1930s home with jolts of color and personal touches that invite relaxation without detracting from the original bones.
“The way I decorate for myself is that I like everything to feel serendipitous," Bunn tells House Beautiful. “A lot of the things in this house I had found and gathered already, and I pulled them into this space. I just brought in all the things I liked and got it all done."
The quick timeline—the reno was done in a month!—was helped by the fact that the home came with some pretty captivating original details. “You don't have to do much, because the charm is already there," says the designer. “The proportions of the rooms were just perfect, so there was really nothing to do but paint." She might be selling herself a little short, if you ask us. See for yourself below.
Living Room
The faux bois wallcovering “made it feel cottagey immediately," says Bunn, as did the fireplace. “We would all just sit and gather around the fire," she recalls. Bunn left the windows sans treatments, a tactic that saved time and showed off the original details. "In these old houses, if you just paint the windows, it solves any problems," Bunn says. She added texture with custom lampshades made from saris bought on Etsy. “In my office there are just tons of boxes of them, and every time we do a project we just shop from there, just pull up whatever colors work."
Stairway
Given the home's relatively small square footage, Bunn wanted every last inch to count—and that meant carving a space that felt like its own room out of the stairwell. "We put carpeting down and we painted it; we wanted it to feel cozy," she says. "The ceilings aren't that high, but it's fun for the kids to hang out there—it's kind of like a cozy nook for them."
Dining Room
"We weren't planning to do much formal entertaining," Bunn says, "so we opened the dining room up to the kitchen." She painted it a fun mint color and furnished the space with a table and chairs from Ballard—in stock for quick shipping.
Kitchen
Bunn kept the kitchen—which had been recently updated—generally untouched. The understated palette keeps focus on the views outside. "The home is tucked away in the woods down this long driveway—it's magical," Bunn says.
Bedroom
"When you have a low-ceilinged cottage like this, it's great to use dark colors," advises Bunn. "It gives it that cozy kind of English feel, and I love the way the moody blue gets shadowy and how it looks with the green of the trees outside."
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