We’re Finally Restoring the Front of Our English Cottage 🏡🌿

After months of demolition work on the annex, today we’re stepping away from the chaos… and returning to where another transformation quietly began. In this episode of My Tiny Estate, we go back to 2025 — to the very beginning of our plans for the front of the Dower House. You’ll even spot little Teo at just 10 months old 🥺 When we first bought this historic cottage, the previous owners had taken a far more practical approach to the front garden. Gravel everywhere, easy parking by the front door, and almost no maintenance. But something about it never quite felt right to us. Over the past years, we’ve slowly been trying to soften the approach to the house and bring back some of the character we felt was missing — planting yew hedging, reintroducing grass, and creating a gentler cottage garden feel. And today, the next stage begins. We’re creating a beautiful new hydrangea border at the front of the house, sharing the reclaimed heritage edging we’ll be using throughout the project, and talking through our careful plans for restoring the original porch. It’s a slower kind of transformation… but one that already feels like it’s changing the entire atmosphere of the cottage. We also take you along for a family day out to the beautiful Maxstoke Castle — a privately owned English castle that has remained in the same family for over 400 years, just a few minutes from our home. A lovely reminder of why we fell in love with historic homes in the first place 🤍 We’ve also been sharing more behind-the-scenes moments, family life, and extra content over on Patreon: 👉   / mytinyestateofficial   And next week… we’re heading straight back into the annex demolition. Thank you, as always, for being part of this journey 🤍 #EnglishCottage #HistoricHome #CottageGarden #HomeRenovation #EnglishCountryLiving