I fell in love with the view
the moment I walked in
C
hristina Dickinson and her
husband Nigel had often talked
about living by the sea, so when
Jess, their youngest daughter got married
and left home, it seemed like the perfect
opportunity. ‘We were living in a four-
bedroom barn conversion which was just
too large – it was the proverbial “empty
nest,” says Christina. ‘Nigel and I decided
we wanted to downsize to somewhere
smaller by the sea, and give ourselves a
fresh start.’
Christina and Nigel both like older
properties, and focused their coastalproperty search on the nearby seaside town
of Exmouth. Shortly afterwards, they found
a large Victorian maisonette apartment
in an elegant white-painted terrace, a
stone’s throw from the sea front. ‘I fell
in love with the amazing sea views the
moment I stepped across the threshold,’
says Christina. ‘The huge picture windows
framed the sea like a painting.’ This was
just as well, since the flat was very run
down, and badly in need of an update. ‘I
don’t think it had been touched since the
1980s,’ says Christina. ‘Since I’m an artist
and designer, I chose to see it as aChristina Dickinson drew on her love of French style
to transform a run-down seaside apartment into a
stylish coastal home
80 August 2019 http://www.yourhomemagazine.co.uk