INSPIRING
Rethinking the layout and taking a fresh approach enabled one owner to transform a beachside 1970s property into a stylish and comfortable home that makes the most of the breathtaking views
HOME PROFILE
WHO LIVES HERE Lesley Mair, now retired after a career in marketing and advertising, plus her dogs, Bailey and Poppet
THE PROPERTY A three-bedroom sea-facing semi-detached house in West Sussex, built in the 1970s, with a one-bedroom annexe in the front garden
A desire to try coastal living led Lesley Mair to buy her first seaside house in East Wittering in West Sussex in 2015. Then, having completely fallen in love with it, she decided she wanted a home right on the beach, facing the sea. ‘Luckily, one of my closest friends had bought this property, which they rented to me,’ she explains. In 2020 she persuaded them to sell it to her – then began a long renovation.
‘When I bought this house, it had three bedrooms, two of which were downstairs and one was very damp and dark. Also downstairs were a bathroom and tiny shower room,’ remembers Lesley. ‘Upstairs there was one bedroom, a loo, a compact kitchen and living room plus a balcony. The ceilings were low, typical of a house built in the 1970s, and the hall was quite narrow, which I really wasn’t keen on – it somehow made everything feel small. But what sold the house to me was the amazing view.’
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 li
