2019-08-01_25_Beautiful_Homes

25bh |

for stockistsgo to where to buy

coastal

W

henAlexMichaelisandSusannaBellwere

seekinga holidayhomeinCornwall,theright

locationwastopoftheirwishlist.Sowhenthey

vieweda dilapidatedhouseina dramaticclifftop

setting,theywereimpressedwiththestunningcoastalvistasand

agreedtheypreferredpanoramicviewstoquaintCornishcottages.

‘Theoldhousehadbeenemptyforyearsandthewallswere

basicallycrumblingslate,heldtogetherwithlayersofpaint,’Alex,

anarchitect,says.‘Ifwehadstartedtorenovatewhatwasalready

there,thehousewouldprobablyhavecollapsed.’Knockingit down

andrebuildingwasthebestoption,notleastbecauseit allowed

Alex’simaginationfreerein.Hepromptlysetaboutdesigninga new

building,maintainingthesea’shorizonastheconstantfocalpoint.

‘Eachroomhasbeendesignedtomakethemostoftheview,’hesays.

Thecentralopen-planareais a multi-purposespaceforliving,

eating,cookingandsocialising.Itis frontedandbackedbyglass,

andtheslidingdoorsontheseawardsidearekeptopenasmuchas

possibleduringthesummermonths.Slightlyremovedfromthis

light-filled hub is the ground-floor children’s bunk room – the

couplehavesevenchildrenbetweenthem.Onthefirstfloor,all

threebedroomshaveglassscreenwindowsthatopenontothesea.

AsonehalfofarchitecturalduoMichaelisBoyd,Alexis

renownedforhissignaturetouchessuchasportholewindows,

organiccurves,andcircularlightwells.‘Therearea fewporthole

shapesinhere,’heagrees.Thehouseis designedwithsustainability

inmind,sinceAlexbelievesthatenergyconservationandinsulation

mustbestructuralfeaturesofa buildingfromtheoutset.Thehouse

re-usesexistingheatandlight,whileallowingforventilationand,

thankstothelayout,enjoysmaximumnaturallight.Pristinewhite

wallsandslidingscreenwindowsprovidea perfectbackdropfora

paletteofmutedgreysandcoastalblues.Naturaltexturessuchas

woodandseagrassabound,addingtotherelaxingcoastalfeel.

Nowtheprojectis complete,allthatremainsoftheoldhouse

is theoriginalricketywoodengate,togetherwithitspreviousname,

LittleCottage,leftasa whimsicalintroductiontothenewbuilding.

‘Peopleexpecttocomedownthepathandfinda quaintlittleplace,’

saysSusanna.‘Andthenthisamazingbuildingreveals itself. It’s

always enjoyable to see how surprised people are.’

EXTERIOR

Thisoutdoorseatingareais

designedtoletyougazeatthe

vista,eveninrainyweather.

Kingstongardensofasetis similar,

£5,099, bridgman

MAsTERBEDROOM

Thefull-lengthslidingglasswindow

providesstunningviewsofthesea.

Malmbedframe,£210,Ikea.Voidsteel

pendantlight,£350,tomDixon.Franklin

bedside table is similar, £250, habitat

WETROOM

Aquamosaictilingandlimestone

flooringhaveanearth-and-skylook.

Mosaicsbybisazza,£213sqm,Majorelle

Interiors.Limestonetilingis similar,

£39.99sq m, Mandarin Stone

122 | 25bhauguSt 2019