The Brief
Working alongside a developer, the waterfront home required complete refurbishment. The cottage had been neglected and modernisation and re-styling for future habitation was essential.
The design was to incorporate 4 double bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and a first-floor open-plan living space.
Inspiration & Design
Not knowing the age or style preferences of any prospective buyer meant creating the design was a slight gamble.
I chose to avoid a ‘typical’ beach theme, but still desired to inject texture, pattern and colours linked to the water. I wanted to respect the age and style of home within the location of the property, allowing any design chosen to work for mixed age groups, but also be suitable for day-to-day living.
I opted on a fairly neutral design base with grey undertones and a combination of traditional, classic, rustic and contemporary influences. Storage areas were important and each room hosted built in storage but still with ample space to add free-standing furniture at a later stage. Due to the water location and risk of flooding, all floors were tiled in a light wood effect finish for easy cleaning and maintenance, with a carpet runner being added only on the stairs to soften. Underfloor heating enabled all tiling to be warm to the touch in winter & cool in summer & rugs added softness and helped to zone areas.
A wood-burning stove provides a winter focal point when the beautiful sea-view is hidden in bad weather. The flow of colour in both flooring and walls extended between all spaces in the property with bolder colour injected in soft furnishings and accessories and feature walls to give each room a statement .
Windows were treated with modern Wave finish curtains for simplicity and elegance, with a voile (or Venetian blind) used as a privacy layer when desired.
Original contemporary artwork added the final splash of colour and texture to complete the look.