A New build with a view

Fiona and Paul met in Kenya nearly 40 years ago, later moving to Cornwall. The home they built in the grounds of their hotel showcases Fiona's skilful approach to mixing art and design from diverse cultures

- AMANDA HARLING

There can be few more memorable locations than that of Paul and Fiona Robinson's clifftop home in Cornwall, set in the grounds of Driftwood, their boutique hotel, with a sensational view of the sea. The couple moved from Surrey to Cornwall on a whim, 15 years ago. Paul used to work in the City but his ambitions lay elsewhere. 'One day he came home and asked if I'd like to move to Cornwall, as there was a small hotel for sale near Portscatho,' recalls Fiona. 'Neither of us had any experience of running hotels, but that soon changed.'

Not that she has any regrets about swapping leafy Surrey for the windswept wilds of Cornwall. Waking up every morning to that view is as good as it gets!' says Fiona, who as well as running the hotel, is also a keen painter (an absent daughter's bedroom is her studio and she works with a group of fellow artists en plein air). 'As every Cornish painter will tell you, the quality of light is unique and so is the scenery, so once you start painting down here, you realise that there's no going back.'

When the couple first took over Driftwood, they rented a house nearby until eventually they were granted planning permission for a small house in the hotel grounds. It was a complete change of lifestyle for both of us. I had my own interior design business in the years before the move, so I had designed the house in my head many times over,' says Fiona, explaining that the challenge was to create a workable family home within the limited footprint of a single-storey building. Maximising the sense of space was her guiding principal and the solution was a central living area that includes an open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting area, all of which is open to the eaves to make it feel more spacious.