Lesley Mair’s aspiration for coastal living prompted her to purchase her initial seaside home in East Wittering, West Sussex, in 2015. Captivated by the location, she later set her sights on a beachfront property facing the sea. “Fortunately, one of my closest friends had acquired this property and rented it to me,” she explains. By 2020, she successfully persuaded them to sell it to her, embarking on an extensive renovation project thereafter.
According to House Beautiful, inspiration for the renovation, both inside and out, was the property’s location on the seafront – and the light. ‘I had a great architect, Angus Eitel from 50.8 Architecture and Interiors,’ says Lesley. ‘My brief to him was to open everything up as much as possible.’ As a result, the house was extended on the north side and the balcony extended on the south to bring in the maximum amount of light and a feeling of space. Lesley also had the roof lifted to construct a vaulted ceiling and, by moving the staircase and relocating a bedroom to the new-build annexe outside, was able to create an airy, open-plan room upstairs and a larger entranceway downstairs.
The new, much bigger balcony is now a great ‘outside in’ entertainment area that works especially well when the doors are wide open in the summer. And thanks to the more expansive floor plan, Lesley was able to relocate the dark downstairs bedroom to the east side of the house, making it a much brighter room. ‘I’ve still got four bedrooms, but now each one has an ensuite bathroom and they’re all lovely and light,’ she says.
