After their second child was born, Hayley Caradoc-Hodgkins and Leo Bruno Todd wanted out of London. She’s a photo editor and he’s a painter/art technician, and for years they had “dreamed of working together and hoped to find a place where we could host and look after people,” Hayley tells us. They set their sights on rural southeast Wales, just over the border from England, their own favorite getaway destination.
During the summer of London’s first lockdown in 2020 the pickings were slim and the family was short on time: they needed to find a place to rent where Odette, their oldest, could start school in the fall, when they heard about a 17th-century compound in the old market town of Abergavenny. “We got a tip-off, packed our bags, and turned up three weeks later, “ says Hayley. Sight unseen, they had landed at Little Mill Abergavenny, and it happened to be exactly what they were looking for: a Victorian house for them and a riverside mill house with great potential as a rental cottage.
They hadn’t been in residence for long when, Hayley relates: “by chance, the owners decided to sell. We put everything we had together and, thankfully they accepted.” Hayley and Leo then got to work. Their Carl Larsson-style bunkbeds, emerald-painted wood floor, and other DIY upgrades are currently thrilling charm seekers on Instagram @little_mill–abergavenny. And, yes, the now-open cottage still has available spring and summer dates. Join us for a tour.
Photography courtesy of Little Mill Abergavenny.
![after buying the property, one of the first projects hayley and bruno embarked 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/exterior-the-little-mill-abergavenny-1.jpg)
Hayley’s nutshell history of the place: “Little Mill was the more diminutive of two mills in Abergavenny and the only one that survives—it even has its four water wheels still in situ. It served the local community for centuries before being acquired by the local Victorian asylum to produce flour for its residents. When milling days were over, the enclave became obsolete and fell into disrepair. It was bought in the 1990s by a pair of Welsh folk musicians who began to restore and salvage the building. Fast forward to 2021 and that is where we come in.”
![hayley, leo, and their children, odette and cassel, have fully embraced their n 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/hayley-caradoc-hodgkins-leo-bruno-and-kids-at-little-mill-abergavenny-wales-1.jpg)
![\2\20;we did a full aesthetic renovation of the house,\2\2\1; say 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/entry-the-little-mill-abergavenny-3.jpg)
The living room, just off the entry, she notes, originally had an earth floor that was replaced, in recent decades, by large paving stones. “We chose to panel the ceilings ourselves; I’ve often admired this look in other cottages. We painted the room in a natural breathable paint from Atelier Ellis.”
![the rooms are furnished with vintage finds and pieces from their own collection 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/living-room-the-little-mill-abergavenny-4a.jpg)
![\2\20;we took the entire kitchen out and started again,\2\2\1; sa 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/kitchen-the-little-mill-abergavenny-6.jpg)
![before tackling the kitchen and several of the other rooms, hayley and leo had 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/little-mill-abergavenny-kitchen.jpg)
![mustard and terracotta are colors that repeat through the house. 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/kitchen-the-little-mill-abergavenny-7a.jpg)
![an old farmhouse table is surrounded by ladder back chairs. admiring the linen 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/kitchen-the-little-mill-abergavenny-7.jpg)
![standing pot storage. for supplies, the town of abergavenny is within walking d 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/3f260fd0-e815-45cb-afcd-042a0f0f9159.jpeg)
![there are three bedrooms and the cottage sleeps a total of eight. 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rep-ad10dfe4-86de-48f6-9bc9-116a9edf45c3.jpeg)
Hayley finished the walls of Bedroom 1 in a blush pink limewash from Francesca’s Paints: read our Remodeling 101 for Everything You Need to Know about Limewash. The blue on the door is Eaton Square from Mylands. The cast-iron radiator here and elsewhere are new additions—”they have an authentic feel, although this type of building would never have had any type of heating system other than wood fires.”
![the bed, an ebay find, stands next to a diy clothes cupboard: hayley & 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/little-mill-abergavenny-bedroom-1-horizotal.jpg)
![the attic room, hayley reports, previously was a \2\20;very bland loft s 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bedroom2-the-little-mill-abergavenny-8a.jpg)
![the adjoining \2\20;box bedroom\2\2\1; is setup for four kids. th 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bedroom3-the-little-mill-abergavenny-10.jpg)
![hayley dreamed up the fanciful built in bunks: \2\20;i designed them on 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bedroom3-the-little-mill-abergavenny-11a.jpg)
![\2\20;i wanted the beds to feel like secret hiding spots,\2\2\1; 31](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bedroom3-the-little-mill-abergavenny-11b.jpg)
![the lone bathroom was \2\20;small, damp, and awkward.\2\2\1; sinc 32](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bathroom-the-little-mill-abergavenny-13.jpg)
![the heated towel rack, pedestal sink, and checked tile backsplash are all new a 33](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bathroom-the-little-mill-abergavenny-12.jpg)
![the view from upstairs. there\2\17;s a petanque court built by leo. 34](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/the-little-mill-abergavenny-overview-with-lake-15.jpg)
![a sudbury sun lounger from rowen & wren. photograph by emma lee. 35](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rowen-and-wren-sudburysunlounger-little-mill-abergavenny-emma-lee-photo-14.jpg)
![hayley and leo\2\17;s victorian (l) and the \17th century mill house (r) 36](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/exterior-the-little-mill-abergavenny-1a.jpg)
![hayley and cassel in a favorite nearby spot: \2\20;sugarloaf is one of t 37](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/hayley-little-mill-abergavenny-wales.jpg)
For more details, go to Little Mill Abergavenny.
Explore the Remodelista Design Travel Archives for vacation ideas the world over, including:
- Getaway Cars: Converted Rail Carriages as Vacation Cabins in Norfolk, England
- A 1760s Maine Sea Captain’s Cottage in a Moody Palette
- Edinburgh Bolthole: A Stylish Vacation Apartment Converted from a Garage
- In Westerly, RI: A Pair of Musicians’ Effortlessly Cool Redone Cape
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