Lon Las: A Cottage Shaped by Curves, Craft and the Coast
“Nothing here should feel sharp,” Daloni says, talking about the softly rounded walls of Lon Las. “Not the corners, not the light, not the way people feel when they arrive.” And that sentiment, gentle and quietly assured, runs through every inch of this small but deeply considered cottage, nestled just inland from the coast on the Llyn Peninsula.
Lon Las is an old Welsh cottage, simple in its bones and rich in its story. Styled by Daloni of Cwt Tatws, it’s a bolthole rooted in place, shaped by craft, and designed to make guests instantly exhale. This is not a show-home, nor a grand statement. It’s a space made for kicking off shoes, lighting fires, running baths and watching the stars.
From the outset, Daloni approached Lon Las with respect for its age. The walls have been finished using traditional lime plaster, calch in Welsh, allowing them to curve and breathe as they would have done generations ago. Nothing is forced straight. Doorways soften, surfaces bend gently, and the whole cottage feels calm and cocooning as a result. “Old houses know what they’re doing,” she says. “You just have to listen.”
Because Lon Las is small, Daloni allowed herself moments of quiet extravagance. Old-fashioned bronze-toned radiators add warmth and character. A tiny chandelier glows downstairs. French single beds with generous wicker headboards sit alongside antique mirrors and local artwork. Every piece has been chosen slowly, thoughtfully, and always with comfort in mind.
Local sourcing sits at the heart of the cottage. The kitchen and bathrooms come from Pwllheli. The granite is from near Colwyn Bay. The log burners are made by Chilli Penguin, a Welsh company Daloni loves for both their craftsmanship and efficiency. Around 90% of the furniture is fair trade, much of it sourced through Cwt Tatws itself, layered with Afghan rugs, hand-knotted textiles, and pieces that carry the marks of the hands that made them.
Art plays a starring role. Lon Las is filled with work by Welsh artists, alongside shelves of books chosen to be read and reread. On the bedside tables, guests will find poetry collections for day and night, in both Welsh and English. “There’ll be nothing in the cottage that I don’t love,” Daloni says, quoting William Morris. “If it’s not useful or beautiful, it doesn’t belong.”
The bathrooms are designed for lingering. A deep Burlington bath sits beneath a Velux window, perfectly positioned so that while standing you can glimpse the sea and the surrounding farmland, and while soaking, you can look straight up at the stars. Daloni tested it herself. “I sat in the bath thinking, will this work? And it does.” Upstairs, twin Velux windows in the bedroom frame the night sky, so guests can fall asleep stargazing, curtains left deliberately open.
Outside, Lon Las continues to unfold. There’s an outdoor kitchen, an outdoor shower, and a large William Holland tin bath, plumbed with hot and cold water for open-air bathing after beach walks. Two fireplaces ensure that, whatever the season, there’s always warmth and glow. Fires will be lit for guests on arrival, because, as Daloni puts it, “When you see a fire already going, you feel at home straight away.”
The garden is expansive and deliberately left a little wild. Apple trees and blackberry bushes fill the space, with a winding path and a picnic bench placed right at the far end. It’s a garden made for exploring, especially for children, and for sitting quietly with a book when the house feels too full of warmth to stay indoors.
Tucked within the grounds is a small former village bakery, complete with its original oven. Daloni plans to whitewash the interior and keep it simple, imagining it as a space where guests might write, paint, or simply sit with a cup of tea and their thoughts. It’s an idea that feels entirely in keeping with Lon Las: nothing overdesigned, everything open to possibility.
When guests arrive, they’ll be welcomed with fires lit, a homemade sponge cake, and a bowl of fruit. It’s not about luxury for luxury’s sake, but about care. “It might be the only holiday someone’s had in ten years,” Daloni says. “You want it to be perfect for them.”
If she were staying herself, Daloni’s weekend would be blissfully simple. A glass of Welsh sparkling wine. A long soak in the outdoor bath under the stars. A walk down to the beach at dawn, perhaps even a quiet swim before anyone else arrives. Coffee from Cwt Tatws, a slow lunch, a good book, a fire lit once more as evening draws in.
Lon Las is a bolthole shaped by its surroundings and by the hands of someone who understands how spaces make people feel. It’s warm, unpretentious, deeply Welsh, and quietly magical. A place where curves replace corners, stars replace screens, and the outside world is allowed, just for a while, to fall away.
