Fall weather means the arrival of cozy season and all of its trappings: blankets, bouclés, fireplaces, and more. While summer might have been all about coastal decor, fall is about snuggling up in comfy cottage-like surroundings.
There are a few elements that make a home feel extra warm and welcoming and cottagey, like floral wallpaper, painted cabinets in colors like soft sage or dusty pink, and vintage touches. The style thrives on details that feel whimsical, and a little nostalgic — think: hobbit holes, Mr. McGregor’s cottage from Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit stories, Miss Honey’s home from Matilda. Are you starting to picture it?
These homes might feel a little too magical to be real, but you can still bring elements of them into your own space. These 11 makeovers from Apartment Therapy’s Before & After series show how everyday rooms — kitchens, bathrooms, porches, and even a garage — can be transformed into character-filled retreats that exude this cozy, cottage-like fantasy. Read on for dreamy inspiration to carry you into cozy season and beyond.
1. A Kitchen Makeover with Fruit Print Wallpaper
First-time homeowners Michelle Samuels and EJ gave their dated 1990s kitchen a $60,000 upgrade that feels straight out of a cottagecore mood board. With a mix of DIY projects and professional help, the couple turned the once-cramped space into a bright, red-and-yellow dream.
Michelle and EJ relocated the fridge, laid down checkerboard tile floors, and painted the upper cabinets in Benjamin Moore’s Palace White. New exposed-edge plywood cabinets in a “Cranberry” finish add bold contrast, but I love that the scalloped soffit above the sink stayed. The cottagecore cherry on top? The new William Morris fruit wallpaper.
2. A Cozy, Renter-Friendly Fireplace Transformation
To accessorize, Patty added a thrift store and Goodwill finds, including a 1995 Holiday Barbie art print that rounded out the look. The fireplace, the floral pattern, and the candlesticks make me want to curl up under a blanket with my book (or TikTok).
3. A U.K.-Inspired Kitchen Makeover in Texas
Newlyweds Lilly Heilveil and Oliver Kerr transformed the beige kitchen in their Austin, Texas, home into a cottagecore-inspired space inspired by kitchens they admired on U.K. real estate sites. (Dreamscrolling, anyone?)
4. A $200 Hallway Project with “English Dollhouse” Vibes
Homeowner Guerin Piercy (@guerination) gave her gloomy gray North Carolina hallway a $200 refresh that looks like a whimsical passageway or a “little English dollhouse,” as she says.
5. A $400 Bathroom Makeover That Feels Like a “Chic Treehouse”
Darren Greenblatt (@darrengreenblatt) embraced the original pink bathroom tile in his family’s 1950s ranch, added a clearance-roll bird wallpaper from Anthropologie, a vintage capiz shell light, and Hermès “Enchanted Forest” plates hung as art. Four hundred dollars later, his place feels like it belongs in an enchanted forest.
6. A “Gross” Shed’s New Storybook Cottage Exterior
Designer Kylie McKay (@kyliemckayinteriors) turned a run-down backyard shed into a dreamy guest cottage that fits perfectly with her 1918 home’s historic district. The key to this exterior’s new storybook look? Salvaged windows and new paint.
A stone patio with a bird bath completes the space and turns it into a garden retreat.
7. A Gorgeous Gingham Furniture Upcycle
Gingham is a timeless cottagecore pattern — and DIYer Jaharn Quinn proved it could work on furniture. She gave a plain brown bookshelf a $50 makeover with a hand-painted blue-and-white gingham look.
8. A $1,2000 Front Porch Glow-Up
Ashley installed brick steps over plain concrete, added a beadboard ceiling that’s painted the same minty green (Benjamin Moore’s Healing Aloe) as her doors, refreshed her longtime Adirondack chairs, and filled pots with roses, lavender, and ivy.
9. A Bare-Turned-Beautiful Bedroom on Martha’s Vineyard
After the wall details were complete to cozy up the space, Steffy installed two plug-in sconces, hung secondhand art, and added cozy bedding. “The space feels so warm … like a cottage home in the woods,” she says.
10. A Builder-Grade Kitchen’s Cozy Cottage Makeover for Just $450
With just $450 and plenty of DIY spirit, Christina Heppard transformed her dark 2000s builder-grade kitchen into a cozy, cottagecore-inspired space. She painted the cabinets a sage green (Behr’s Chopped Dill), added brass hardware, and left a few doors off for open shelving.
She also brightened the backsplash with white tile paint and even stitched her own sink skirt. (Readers, take note: Skirted furniture is an easy, budget-friendly way to add instant storybook vibes.) That’s all complemented by a stained-glass pendant and pops of red trim in Behr’s Lingonberry Punch.
