When Stephanie Renouf bought her home on the Suffolk coast, it was far from prepossessing. Three years later, it is a vision of seaside chic

Such is Stephanie Renouf's passion for seaside holidays that she likes to think of her clapboard house on the Suffolk coast as a giant beach hut – a cosy shelter from the elements. “I was brought up in Norfolk and my father is a real bucket-and-spade-holiday man, so we have always spent time near beaches and that influences how I like to live,” she says. “When we looked for a house here, it not only had to be light and comfortable but also a place in which we could feel serene.”

The New England-inspired house that Stephanie now shares with her partner, Johnny Anderson, is not what the couple first had in mind when they decided to find a country bolthole from their London home in bustling Fulham. “Our original plan was to buy a little two-bedroom cottage by the sea just for weekends but, when we started to look, we realised that the prices were roughly the same as you would pay for a flat in Fulham, so we really had to rethink what we were going to do,” says Stephanie. A local estate agent then persuaded them to look at a 17-year-old, three-bedroom chalet bungalow with dormer windows, which could not have been further from their original plans. Thinking about it more, Stephanie and Johnny could see that it was a brilliant opportunity to create a truly individual, permanent home.

Stephanie was keen to use her skills as an interior decorator, and the idea occurred to her that they could create much more space if they gutted the house and converted the garage into ground-floor living space. To make the most of the large plot with its wonderful sea views, they extended the house by as much as planning consent would allow. They even had the aspect changed so that, when the sun shines, it pours across the veranda into the family room all day long.

To cover up the hotchpotch of new brickwork and rendering on the outside of the house, Stephanie decided to use New England-style wooden cladding. “I did quite a lot of research into the New England-Cape Cod kind of home and felt that the style fitted our new house and its location, and built everything up from there,” she says. “Our basic plan was to have a set of rooms that opened off a central hall, which we widened to bring in more light.”

Stephanie excels at entertaining family and friends and has designed her own living spaces with this in mind. “If you can sleep eight to ten people, you don't want everyone huddled up in one space during the day,” she explains. “Ideally you want communal spaces such as the family room and kitchen to be combined so that some people can be relaxing on the sofas or reading the newspapers while others are setting the table, or preparing food on the worksurfaces.”

The house, she says, works just as well for one or two people and is designed for everyday living, not just holidays, which is why there is no obvious seaside imagery, simply a few items collected from beach holidays and sailing trips on the south coast. “With a beach theme, you just need to go to seaside places. If there is a certain look and feel I am trying to create, I go to the origin of that to find the pieces I need or else I get people to make them. We had a big fact-finding trip in Ile de Ré on the west coast of France because I quite like that French style of country-meets-beach.” Colours in calming blues and greens reflect the Suffolk coastal landscape, and flow through the house even though each room has a different concept. Stephanie wanted to have an easy and practical home with a discreet nautical feel, but not one that looked squeaky new and shiny; hence her choice of solid teak, for its warmth and for its associations with ships and boats.

The house took almost three years to complete, and Stephanie and Johnny lived on site for a lot of that time in a luxury caravan. “It seemed silly to have this lovely location by the beach and not use it,” Stephanie says. “Every Friday morning in the summer I would drive up early from London, 'do' my day with the builders then get the gazebo and barbecue out and have friends round for supper.”

Now the house is complete, but the same lifestyle remains. It is not one that Stephanie or Johnny have any wish to change just yet.

WORDS MARION WELHAM
PHOTOGRAPHS SPIKE POWELL
SEPTEMBER 2006

SOURCEBOOK
A C Electrical Wholesale, (01603) 763132; www.ac-electrical.co.uk.
Anglia Fireplaces & Design, (01223) 234713.
Barry Marshall at Serena Hall Gallery, (01502) 723887; www.serenahall.fsnet.co.uk.
Bathroom Discount Centre, (020) 7381 4222; www.bathroomdiscount.co.uk.
Cape Cod Cladding at Vincent Timber, (0121) 772 5511; www.vincenttimber.co.uk.
Island Stone, 0800 083 9351; www.islandstone.co.uk.
Kitchen Central, (020) 773 66458; www.kitchencentral.co.uk.
Martincraft, (01502) 714918; www.martincraft.co.uk.
The Parish Lantern in Walberswick, (01502) 723173.
Reed Harris, (020) 7736 7511; www.reed-harris.co.uk.
Reeve Flooring, (01485) 210754; www.reeveflooring.com.
Renouf Interiors, (01502) 726172.
Sue Walker, (020) 7736 8418 and at Harvey Nichols and Fenwick.
Tina Evetts, (01986) 894487.
Walcot House, (01993) 832940; www.walcothouse.com