coastal cool
Renovating Caroline Latham’s seaside townhouse wasn’t all plain sailing, but she now enjoys spectacular views and a cosy yet luxurious interior
After falling in love with this seaside town in Devon, this couple decided to buy their own place here
Most people come home from a holiday with a few souvenirs but Caroline Latham and fiancé James Hodgson returned with something more substantial – a second home. ‘We found the townhouse by chance when we were staying in a property opposite,’ recalls Caroline. ‘It was just a case of seeing the For Sale sign and both of us wondering how much houses go for in this area. That led to us booking a viewing that afternoon. The minute we walked in, we loved it – the views of the River Dart and out to sea were spectacular.’ The couple, along with Caroline’s sister Samantha, an interior stylist, and their father Anthony, a retired solicitor, immediately made plans to buy it.
While the house was in good condition, it had not been lived in for some time, and all the walls were painted white. As well as being stark, it lacked the decor the family knew it deserved. ‘The house was built in 1792, so we wanted to ensure the design was appropriate,’ explains Caroline. ‘Samantha and I are passionate about creating beautiful spaces that people enjoy living in. Being sisters, we’re pretty in tune with
each other, and we try to evoke the cosiness of our childhood in the rooms that we design.’
The purchase of the house went through just before last Christmas, allowing the family to spend New Year there and work out what needed to be changed. ‘We debated whether to have a separate kitchen and living area, or join them and have an additional bedroom,’ says Samantha. ‘In the end, we chose the extra bedroom and one large kitchen-living space. We situated it on the second floor because there were sash windows overlooking the river. It made the perfect entertaining space – it’s lovely to sit there with friends and watch the boats bobbing around on the water.’ They also partitioned off a section of the kitchen to create a third bathroom and redesigned the ground-floor en suite and dressing room to make it more accessible.
With the layout decided, they then stripped the flooring back to its original state and created mood boards for each room. ‘ We spent a lot of time sourcing
DECORATING TIP ‘Don’t get caught up with colour schemes and matching things. The important thing is that your home is filled with items you love’
pieces with a history,’ says Samantha. ‘You don’t have to spend a fortune, you just have to be creative.’
However, this seaside renovation wasn’t all plain sailing, as works took longer than anticipated to complete. ‘In the end we helped our builder out by undertaking various tasks such as sealing the worktops and building cupboards,’ reveals Caroline. ‘I don’t know what we’d have done without James there. We also had problems with a vintage armoire that had been shipped from France. When it arrived I was surprised at how big it was – we spent a good hour trying to get it upstairs to the first-floor bedroom. Eventually, we gave up. Luckily, it fitted in the ground-floor dressing room.’
Eight months after the pair spotted their dream holiday property, the house finally fits their vision of a cosy, happy retreat. ‘Renovating an entire house can be stressful but it’s been worthwhile,’ says Caroline. ‘ We love to invite friends to stay whenever we can. One or two of us will be cooking, we’ll share a bottle of wine and there’s always lots of laughter and fun.’
DECORATING ADVICE ‘Interior design is like fashion; tastes change, so I spend more on pieces that won’t date and less on items that follow the latest trend’