When you think of English, Welsh, Irish, or Scottish cottages, do you imagine small, old-fashioned fairytale-like dwellings? Though this may be true in many cases, you can find some incredible cottages throughout the UK that are updated, but haven't lost their original character.
See how these 10 shingled, cross-gabled, or pitched-roof homes have been transformed into beautiful modern abodes that are available as short-term rentals.
Backwater in Norfolk, England
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This RIBA award-winning house by Platform 5 Architects has three pitched-roof bays that are clad in shingles. The design is inspired by Scandinavian lake houses and echoes the form of local boat sheds.
Sitting on a peaceful property within a 16-acre wooded valley near Cheltenham, The Find is a minimalist stone house with a new elongated extension that includes light concrete interiors and walls of glass windows.
Contemporary design meets 15th-century Tudor charm in this magical vacation home with diamond-pane windows, exposed-oak wood beams, and a modern frontage made of glass and polished steel.
Designed by ACME, this sensitively restored mill keeper’s cottage on the bank of Norfolk’s River Ant has a new addition made from solid laminated wood that acts as a shadow of the original cottage.
Set within the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, Faraway House consists of two old stone dwellings that have been renovated and decorated with colorful, patterned fabrics and vintage travel posters.
Though not made of stone or brick like the other homes in this roundup, this two-person escape designed by Rural Design Architects on Scotland’s Isle of Skye was made with corrugated metal, a material that's commonly used for agricultural sheds or "crofters cottages" in the rural areas of Scotland.
This quaint cottage near the remote lakeside town of Treangarriv in County Kerry has a poured-concrete extension that mimics the original adjoined cottage. The color of the wood grain and oxidized concrete match the mountains in the background and helps the extension blend seamlessly into the landscape. The bathroom has a glass roof so that guests can gaze up at the stars from a sunken bathtub.
Formerly an annex that was part of an existing heritage thatch cottage, The Hide was fully revamped with concrete and silver-wood shingles, a series of small, square-like, peephole windows, and two large and angled overhanging windows to create a stunning modern retreat.
When remodeling this 300-year-old cottage, architect Miljana Salinovic installed steel frames in order to preserve the texture of the traditional flint walls. A new extension was also added, which is clad in charred cedar.