Welcome To The House Of Light & Loveliness

When Julie and Ray Hutton built their dream house at Porthpean, their aim was to create a home filled with light, both by day and by night

ANYONE who visits Cornwall for the very first time is sure to notice the purity of natural light we enjoy here in the South West, not to mention the stunning coastal views that light enhances. When Julie and Ray Hutton built their new home, ‘Seaways’, on St Austell Bay, they saw an opportunity to bring light and landscape together in one stunning space, inspired by the beauty of the Cornish coast.

‘When we bought the original Seaways on this plot, we were going to extend it, but just couldn’t seem to make it work,’ says Julie. ‘We spoke to an architect, who suggested we knock the original house down and build a completely new one. My husband Ray is a builder, so we thought: let’s do it! The plot here is spectacular – it overlooks Duporth Beach and you can see right over to Charlestown – so it all leant towards building something really special. The brief we gave the architect was “Rock meets Padstow meets New England”. We envisaged a sunlit glass and oak space, with huge outdoor space. It was thrilling knowing we were going to build our dream house.’

Julie, from Plymouth, and Ray, originally from London, moved to St Austell Bay when Ray suggested it was finally time to enjoy ‘a sea view’. It’s an idea they have certainly embraced. For eight months, Ray and Julie lived in a caravan, enjoying barbecues on the beach and watching their glass and oak home take shape. Designed to take advantage of the clear ocean light and beautiful views, Seaways is the unique coastal home they had always hoped for.