A 37-year-old home designer has transformed a beloved holiday movie fantasy into reality, creating an exact replica of the charming English cottage from the 2006 romantic comedy "The Holiday." Lucy Small spent nine months building the fictional Rosehill Cottage in North Georgia, where Cameron Diaz's character Amanda Woods fell for Jude Law's Graham in the hit film. The cottage is now available as a short-term rental for $399-$499 per night and has already booked solid through March 2026.
Small, who has designed over three dozen homes in the Blue Ridge Mountains during her six-year career, says nothing prepared her for the overwhelming response to her latest project. The Holiday Cottage went live for bookings on October 4 and filled up almost immediately, with approximately 4,000 people having left their email addresses on a waiting list Small created in 2022. "Everyone got excited about it, and no one stopped me," Small told Fortune magazine about her ambitious undertaking.
The project presented unique challenges since the original cottage never actually existed in real life. The movie's Rosehill Cottage was created using movie magic – the weathered exterior was built in an open field, while all interior scenes were filmed on studio sets that were torn down nearly two decades ago. "If it never existed, if it's a set that was torn down 20 years ago, that's a lot more interesting, because there is literally nothing else in the world like it," Small explained.
Building a house that was designed for film rather than real-world living proved complicated. Small worked with an architectural designer, watching the romantic comedy "1,000 times" to get every detail right. They discovered the original cottage wouldn't meet building codes – the ceilings would only be seven feet tall based on window placement, the film version had three fireplaces but only two chimneys, the bathroom floor was sloped, and one window would cut halfway through kitchen cabinets. Small's team created fake walls and slopes to maintain the authentic movie aesthetic.
Furnishing the two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home became unexpectedly expensive. Using reverse Google image searches, Small tracked down antiques identical to those used in the movie set, only to discover they cost upwards of $30,000 each. A bamboo umbrella tree shown in the cottage entryway was priced at over $15,000. Small ultimately found similar pieces that captured the same warm, charming atmosphere without breaking her budget, though she declined to reveal the total construction costs.
The cottage's success reflects the enduring popularity of "The Holiday," which was streamed 2.3 million times in 2023 according to Samba TV analysis. Small began planning the project several years ago but faced delays due to Georgia's slow processing of short-term rental licenses as the vacation rental market boomed. Heavy taxes and fees from counties wanting to capitalize on the industry's growth also had to be factored into pricing.
Early interest was overwhelming even before construction began. People sent handwritten letters expressing their excitement about staying at the cottage based solely on digital renderings. Small, who describes herself as someone who "doesn't know how to use social media at all" and is "pretty private," was surprised by the media attention her project received. She says virtually every major magazine has covered the build.
The rental has created meaningful experiences for guests, who share their stories in the home's guest book. One trio of sisters brought their mother, a devoted "Holiday" fan, for what Small calls "the ultimate dream stay." Another visitor who used to watch the movie with her mother every Christmas rented the cottage with her father after her mother's passing. For many renters, the cottage represents more than just accommodation – it's a chance to step into beloved movie memories and reconnect with family traditions.
Currently, the cottage has only one available day in March, a few slots in April, and one opening in May. Multi-day bookings aren't available until June 2026, making the property booked solid for six straight months. Despite the project's viral success, Small says she's content being a "one-hit-wonder" and has no plans for additional movie-themed builds. "A lot of the things that make this house – The Holiday Cottage – so special, I don't think can be replicated," she concluded.
