Since university days, Laura Woussen and her husband Jack dreamt of living and working by the sea. Now they are bringing up their family in the South Hams, enjoying everything this picturesque part of the coast has to offer
Warm and tactile, wood is everywhere in the Devon coastal home of graphic designer and stylist, Laura Woussen, and her husband, Jack, a doctor. Ash flooring in the downstairs living room, a tree trunk coffee table in the snug, ash-fronted kitchen cabinets and plywood panelling on the bath – all chosen, finished and installed by Jack, alongside heirloom furniture inherited from their families and second-hand pieces carefully sourced on eBay and at reclamation centres. ‘Wood is such a beautiful material, different types of timber have different qualities, from the grain to the knots to the colour,’ says Laura, looking out onto a suitably fitting tree line of oak, beech and cherry, with an enviable sea vista beyond.
The exciting day, some seven years ago, when the couple took possession of their 1950s semi-detached house in the village of Stoke Fleming near Dartmouth, was the beginning of a welcome new chapter in their lives. Since going to university near the sea – Laura was at Exeter and Jack at Swansea – they had dreamt of making their own home on the coast. Their quest began with a move to Scarborough in Yorkshire but with both their families nearer to the South West, they felt drawn to settle in this region.
‘We came to stay in the area on an exploratory holiday in 2013 to see how we felt about the South Hams area,’ remembers Laura. They liked what they found, which included family-friendly Blackpool Sands, surfy Bantham Beach, and the historic naval town of Dartmouth with its lively shops, restaurants and bars alongside the peaceful River Dart.
BIG POTENTIAL
‘Our main criteria was budget, what was affordable, and a sea view if we could find it,’ says Laura. It seemed like serendipity when a four-bedroom home came up for sale in Stoke Fleming, a few minutes’ walk from the South West Coast Path. An ex-local authority property dating to the 1950s, the semi-detached house had a large, south-facing garden big enough to accommodate log stores for a woodburner, Jack’s ever-evolving wood collection, a veg patch, a chicken coop, flower beds and a lawn for their two sons to play on
