Rooms with a view – No. 7 The Beach Porthtowan
Inside coastal interiors.
When searching for a holiday home in Cornwall, my clients Miles and Wendy, were looking for a contemporary beach property with all the home comforts for their family and letting guests.
Situated in an awe-inspiring position, high above Porthtowan beach, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, No. 7 The Beach provided the perfect setting that Miles and Wendy were wanting for their second home. While the location offered that much needed escape for the family, the interiors were a little less desired, as Miles and Wendy wanted to replicate the coastal chic beach holiday look that you see on Instagram and experience when holidaying in Cornwall.
The Brief:
My clients wanted the apartment to feel comfortable, as they wanted guests to feel like they were in a space which was a home away from home. They also intend to use the apartment a lot themselves during holidays, and so briefed a scheme that was more in tune with the relaxed coastal location. Time was also of the essence, as Miles and Wendy wanted to let the property right away, so not to miss out on Spring/Summer bookings (before we knew as a country, that we were going into lockdown, due to the virus pandemic).
The Design
Inspired by the sea view framed by the ceiling to floor windows in the open plan living space, I created a mood board playing with a muted colour palette of pale blues, sea greens and washed out neutrals.
It was important to include natural materials in the scheme, so that the space felt comfortable and at one with its location. I opted for a fabulous loose weave fabric for the curtains to frame the beach view. The fabric is called Ghostnet from Ian Sanderson and is very similar to driftnets, so perfect for the design concept.
I replaced the old sofa with a more stylish and comfortable one in Highland Tweed from sofa.com and introduced a gorgeous contemporary rocking chair and cute round footstool in a fabric called Seaweed, also from sofa.com. To add a boho chic coastal twist to the scheme and texture, I opted for neutral fringed cushions to complement the sofa.
To complete the living room coastal look, I chose a bespoke natural sisal rug with a Storm Blue cotton binding, and a unique tree root coffee table with glass top from Sustainable Furniture.
In the open plan dining space, I purchased a grey wash table and dining chairs from Loaf.com to continue the coastal theme that Miles and Wendy desired. Comfortable leather stools, also from loaf.com, were added to the breakfast bar to tie-in with the contemporary living look.
In the bedrooms…
In the master bedroom, Miles and Wendy wanted to create a space which felt cosy and inviting while feeling light and open. To frame the beach view, I used the same Ghostnet fabric but in a denim blue and added a blackout lining to the curtains. This fabric works wonderfully with the natural rattan chair I purchased, adding texture and depth to the room.
The chair and bed are dressed with pale grey and soft yellow velvet cushions with coordinating (but not matching) wool throws. By adding soft furnishings to the bed and chair, the room feels more welcoming and cosier, creating a calm space for relaxing and sleeping. The mixture of muted greys, sea blues and yellows in this room pull the scheme together, as the white walls and furniture no longer feel cold and sparse.
In the twin bedroom, I simply added bright yellow and white striped cushions and throws to the beds and used bright yellow reading lamps on the bedside table. The yellow contrasting against the white makes the room feel more spacious and comfortable for a relaxing bedtime for kids and the young at heart.
