It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of these photos. I started the #seawallscapes series during lockdown as the ash lagoons at Levenhall Links became a regular walk for us. I remember the lagoons from my childhood when it was an industrial site. At that time, the lagoons were still filled with water, but were slowly being filled up with ash deposits from the former Cockenzie Power Station. I remember walking round the individual lagoons, but really nothing else. I don’t recall gazing over the sea wall, for example, although I must have.
When I was thinking about how this blog was changing – away from design to more personal posts about coastal living and some of our favourite places to explore and walk – I wasn’t sure how to integrate design into this format. Would it jar? Possibly. But some design led posts still feel like they fit here, and particularly when you combine contemporary architecture with a sustainable ethos and a striking coastal location, as with Majamaja, which is situated just outside Helsinki.
As we find ourselves in week four of the UK’s lockdown, knowing that there will be more weeks stretching ahead – and many more with some level of restrictions even once this lockdown has been eased – I realise that I feel very differently about my home these days. I appreciate it differently. I’ve always appreciated it. The recession taught me never to take home for granted – indeed, my youth taught me this – but still, my perspective has shifted. I’m glad that I don’t live in the city any more; that I can walk to our local beach or around the ash lagoons, a place where I walked as a child, when the landscape looked very different, and that I’m rediscovering now, unexpectedly. I’m so glad that we have a garden, even though it’s tiny, as that slice of outdoor space has never felt more important. Just knowing you have some space beyond your walls.
And when I’m scrolling through interiors, while I’m always drawn to spaces that exude an uncluttered sense of calm, I’m also looking at houses that I could imagine escaping to. Places that are connected to nature in some way.
Coastal locations are always my favourite – we escape Edinburgh every weekend for walks down the coast in East Lothian – and whenever I come across a property in Cornwall, I have to admit that the location alone is often the USP for me. Just the thought of living within walking distance of Cornwall’s beautiful coastline is enough to make me want to pack my bags.
And this property, which is on the market with Aucoot, combines its fantastic location in Bude, just a few minutes walk from Crooklets beach, with a stunning light-filled home designed by Hogarth Architects. Located on Ash Row, this six-bedroom home is part of an award winning development of four houses designed under Hogarth Architects’ development wing Hogarth Homes.