AS GOOD AS NEW

Building a house in their favourite coastal location gave Julia and Colin Wilson the chance to turn their dreams into reality

- SEAN O'CONNELL

HOME TRUTHS

THE PROPERTY Detached new build

LOCATION West Sussex

ROOMS Sitting/dining/family area, two kitchens, sewing room, utility room, office, cinema room, four bedrooms (all en suite)

BUILT 2020

PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘Before this, we had a detached house in Surrey,’ says Julia.

For Julia and Colin Wilson, the opportunity to buy a dilapidated house on the West Sussex coast was impossible to resist. ‘It was just down the road from our former holiday home and we didn’t want to lose our lovely neighbours,’ says Julia. ‘It also had decent garden space, which was a must for all our dogs.’

Importantly, it also gave the couple the chance to build a new home from scratch, one which paid homage to its beachside setting. Clearly contemporary in feel, it boasts angular architecture, exposed steel supports and interior walls encrusted with blocks of Dorset flintstone, and it was built with love and precision by White de Groote Construction.