SEASIDE DREAM One owner has put her superior sewing skills to good use when kitting out her coastal home
On the coast near Chichester in West Sussex, a 1930s bungalow has been transformed into a stylish home that reflects the breezy spirit of its setting
thirties bungalow near Chichester. Jan grew up on the south coast and moved back when her husband Roger retired eight years ago.
‘The bungalow had been used as a weekend cottage,’ she says. ‘We immediately saw the possibilities for renovation and just loved the setting, with its sea views from the upstairs window.’ As Roger is a keen sailor, the proximity to the local sailing club was an added bonus.
The renovation was swift – just eight months – while Jan and Roger lived in a rented house opposite. Their dream was to create an open-plan living space to reflect the breezy openness of their location, with a priority being to remove a conservatory and a couple of walls downstairs, before building upwards to add two bedrooms and a bathroom. New dormer windows give sea views and the couple chose a colour palette of blues, whites and neutrals to play up the nautical feel.
This home is as practical as it is stylish, however. The original porch has been enclosed to make a welcoming entrance hall with abundant places to stow away sun hats or sou’ westers as well as offering somewhere to sit
It was the mix of a seaside location and a renovation project that drew Jan Palmer to this
‘This house had to be FUNCTIONAL for everyday living and ENTERTAINING’
while pulling off boots. ‘We added coat hooks and invested in a bench with storage baskets as we need plenty of space for storing muddy boots and jackets after our many walks along the shore,’ says Jan.
Just beyond the porch lies the new kitchen. ‘We liked the idea of a big island with a built-in sink, so we’d have a view of the garden while preparing supper and washing up,’ Jan explains. ‘It had to be highly functional for everyday living and also for entertaining – for me, it was important that the dishwasher, for example, wasn’t on view.’ Jan chose Shaker-style cabinetry from Howdens. The island is painted in Navy from Neptune – a different colour to the wall units so it stands out as a statement piece – and the worktops are quartz: ‘I really like them because they’re so hardwearing and stain-resistant.’ And there’s plentiful storage here too. ‘I counted how many cupboards we had in our previous house and doubled it,’ Jan says.
Cleverly divided with a freestanding cupboard between the sitting and dining spaces, the living area features furniture grouped together to demarcate the different zones. ‘We brought the sitting room furniture with us from our last house,’ Jan says, ‘but then invested in a couple of rugs, and I also made some new cushion covers plus a loose cover for the Chesterfield sofa that I can easily remove and wash. To finish the look I made curtains and Roman blinds.’ The neutral shades and ticking fabric she’s used add to the fresh, seaside feel of the house.
Given its location and laidback layout, it’s a perfect home for entertaining. ‘The joy of open-plan living is that you’re not cut off from guests when you’re cooking,’ Jan says. ‘Our extendable dining table seats up to 12. The table is old – we updated it by painting the legs in an off-white – and I covered the seat pads in blue and white ticking.’ Striped napkins and blue and white china echo the coastal shades.
To keep costs down, the couple kept the stairs in the original position but had new treads made to replace the creaky old ones.
They also created a useful under-stairs storage cupboard complete with socket for charging a vacuum cleaner, and replaced all the doors with oak ledged doors to give a more country feel.
Upstairs, the view that had originally attracted them to the house has been maximised. ‘I love to be able to see the sea from the dormer windows,’ Jan says. She’s come up with some clever ideas for these windows, which can be tricky to dress, working with the shape of the dormer to create floor-length curtains kept in place with a hold-back: ‘Shutters are brilliant for privacy and create a fabulous New England feel, but as the house faces east, the early morning sun shines through, so I added curtains at most of the windows with blackout linings.’
Jan continued the calming, understated colour scheme into the main bedroom, which features floor-to-ceiling wardrobes and pine furniture, brought with them from their old house, that they have painted in soft greys. In the upstairs bathroom a seaside theme is expressed with simple white-painted tongue-and-groove panelling.
The ground-floor guest suite has its own bathroom. ‘We used splashes of mustard for a change in there!’ Jan says. ‘Having an ensuite shower room near the entrance is handy for a quick wash when we get home from the beach.’ Like everything in the house, it’s designed to make living easy and to look elegant. And it’s a testament to what can be achieved on a tight timescale and modest budget, when you get creative with colour and design.
‘I LOVE to be able to SEE THE SEA from the dormer WINDOWS’