What is an English Cottage Style Home in Portland?
Updated 05/2025.
We’ve written before about the many architectural styles you’ll find in Portland, and in this article, we’re adding another to the list: the English Cottage.
Inspired by the original cottages from England, these homes possess a welcoming feel that calls up images of cozy comfort and charming whimsy. The grounds tend to be as important as the homes themselves, with lush outdoor spaces created to allow for relaxing and communing with nature.
If you are imagining the homes featured in “Howard’s End” or any Jane Austen book, then you’re right on the money. See the full map of all English Cottage homes for sale in Portland.
Characteristics of an English Cottage Style Home in Portland
The Exterior Architecture
One of the first characteristics you’ll notice about English Cottage style homes is the dramatically sloped roofs, some reaching almost to the ground. Historically, the homes used thatched roofs made of straw or reeds, so the steep angles helped divert water quickly off the roof to avoid becoming waterlogged and leaking into the home.
Other easy-to-spot traits include brick pathways leading to inviting arched doorways, as well as stand-out chimneys.
Common facade materials are natural stone work, detailed brick lays, stucco, wood siding, and hand-carved woodwork. Unlike other popular home styles in the US, the floor plans are often asymmetrical, focusing instead on creating a cozy and inviting interior with intriguing nooks.
Casement window groupings of three or four (some bay) with diamond-pattern inlays, cobblestone pathways, brick garden walls, and window boxes are also common.
Landscaping
Lovely landscaping is oftentimes a featured component of a cottage home’s exterior, the intention being to evoke feelings of being in the countryside: a mix of evergreen vegetation with pops of color from seasonal flowers. The more landscaping it has, the better.
The types of plants and trees used will depend on where the home is. For example, Portland has a temperate climate with mild winters and summers, while England has a more moderate climate and distinct seasons. Portland is also wetter, allowing for species that tolerate wetness longer. The different weather allows Portland homes to show off a broader range of plant species that can’t grow in England. The fall colors also tend to be more vibrant in Portland.
Interior Architecture and Furnishings
These homes are all about being comfortable, casual, and functional. To create the cozy feel, the homes make ample use of natural materials and exposed structural elements like wood beams, hardwood floors, stone, and brick. The use of natural stones on the exterior is often carried through to the interior. You might see these showing up in bathrooms, kitchens, and around fireplaces.
Historically, fireplaces were a central feature, serving functional purposes for cooking and heating the home. In many contemporary English Cottage homes, this feature remains and is located in the living room near the front door, with the exterior of the chimney serving as part of the home’s street-facing facade.
As with the fireplace, this style of home generally focuses on overall functionality throughout, offering a comfortable, rustic aesthetic, with the floor plans being open and informal. As we said before, a reading nook here and there is part of the home’s appeal.
In terms of furniture, the look is traditional but unassuming and more cozy, relaxed, and casual than other traditional styles. It’s the type of furniture you would like to crawl into before reading a book. Textiles feature natural materials like wool, cotton, and linen, though leather fits right in with the more natural look. Floral prints add a soft, pleasant look.
How did the English Cottage Style Home get its Name?
The first English cottages date all the way back to Medieval Europe and were created to house cotters, or farmers. They were simple, functional, and made of local materials. As time moved on, various movements like the Romantic period and the Arts and Crafts movement brought more ornamentation while maintaining a focus on coziness. These homes were meant to be a place to relax, not to put on airs.
When did the English Cottage Style Home Come to Portland?
The English Cottage became popular in the U.S. during the 1920s housing boom. Soldiers from World War I returned home with design inspiration from architecture they had seen overseas, and the most favored styles belonged to U.S. allies, like England. The English Cottage became a blend of other styles, such as Tudor, Arts & Craft, and Bungalows.
The style came to Portland around the same time. With the war having ended just a few years before, along with economic and other challenges, people were searching for comfort and simplicity on the home front.
Where to Find English Cottage Style Homes in Portland
English Cottage style homes are mostly located on Portland’s east side, home to many of Portland’s older homes, but you’ll also find a small smattering of them on Portland’s west side. Concentrations of them can be found in the Eastmoreland, Laurelhurst, Richmond, Hosford-Abernethy (Ladd’s Addition), and Sellwood-Moreland (Garthwick) neighborhoods.
Looking for an English Cottage Style Home in Portland?
If you’ve fallen in love with this charming architectural style and want to live in one of these beauties, get in touch with our top 1% buyer’s agents at 503-773-0000. Or if you’ve enjoyed the comfort of one and are ready to put it on the market, our top 1% seller’s agents can help—call us at 503-714-1111 or chat with the bot on our site. We look forward to working with you!
