Sienna Miller Bought Her 400-Year-Old English Cottage on a Whim to Escape the Media Circus
Most people put a lot of thought into purchasing a house. For Sienna Miller, however, buying her Buckinghamshire cottage was a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Anatomy of a Scandal actor recently gave Architectural Digest an inside look at her historic home that’s the epitome of “cottagecore.”
The 16th-century cottage Sienna Miller bought ‘on a whim’
Miller purchased the 16th-century cottage almost a decade earlier, in a bid to escape the intense press attention that was part of her life at that time.
“It was a time when there was a lot of press attention on me, and I wanted somewhere to escape,” the American Sniper actor told Architectural Digest. “I bought the house on a whim — it offers a sanctuary. I also wanted somewhere where family and friends could gather. It has a nurturing feeling; it is a home with a heart.”
The country cottage is where Miller and her loved ones spend their time while the actor isn’t hard at work on set. For almost the entire time she’s owned the house, Miller left the interior basically unchanged from how it was when she bought it. However, during the early days of the pandemic, the now-40-year-old decided she wanted a change.
Who revamped Sienna Miller’s country home?
“I wanted a Gaby house!” Miller laughed, referring to her friend Gaby Dellal’s homes in London and Cornwall. While Dellal is a director by trade, she said yes to playing interior decorator for Miller. She worked on the cottage while Miller was stuck in New York during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“What was beautiful is that she just trusted me, and we had a deal whereby she was not allowed there for six months until I completed the project,” Dellal explained. This isn’t the first time the pair have worked together; Dellal gave Miller her first big acting role in 2003’s The Ride.
This friendship meant Dellal was familiar with Miller’s country home already. She knew the potential that was already there. The director started by completely emptying the house of all furniture, then called in construction crews to replace windows, rip out flooring, and raise ceilings.
The exterior of the house also got a makeover. Dellal changed a driveway and parking area into a wildflower meadow, and turned an old garage into a guest house for friends and family.
“When I took on the project, I did tell Sienna that I would want to change everything — floors, windows, doors included,” Dellal explained. She looked all over the world for craftsmen, dealers, and supplies for the home makeover. Dellal also scoured the internet for deals, finding 20 antique windows on eBay.
Miller’s reaction to the finished house: ‘I started to cry’
“I could not believe the transformation,” the Wander Darkly star told AD. Miller didn’t get to see the redesigned home until everything was finished. “I knew it had massive potential, but arriving to see this meadow in front of the house planted with wildflowers, I started to cry.”
“Gaby is a true artist,” the actor continued. “Everything has a story, like the kitchen cabinets that were made from old school desks, and there is a real sense of place — it is an artistic retreat but not in any sense precious. Every time I stay here, I discover new aspects.”
Miller’s Buckinghamshire cottage isn’t her only home. She also owns a five-story townhouse in North-West London, as well as a newly-purchased townhouse in New York’s West Village.
