A Cobbled-Together 1940s Cottage Inspired This Breezy Coastal Home in the U.K.

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Project Details:

Location: Dungeness, United Kingdom

Architect: Hollaway Studio / @hollawaystudio

Footprint: 1,582 square feet

Builder: Coleman and Peters

Structural Engineer: Knapp Hicks & Partners

Photographer: Charles Hosea / @charleshoseaphotography

From the Architect: "Set against the stark shingle landscape of Dungeness, Westview Cottage replaces a worn 1940s dwelling with a home that feels shaped by the coastline around it. When Tom and Yvette first bought the house, it was dark with low ceilings and heavily altered, with a series of awkward extensions and little connection to its setting. Years of patchwork additions had left it structurally failing, but there was something in its improvised character they wanted to hold onto. Their brief was to create three bedrooms, open the house up for family life and make better use of the roof volume, while reconnecting it to the landscape. Views to both the old and new lighthouses became key anchors in the design, alongside a detached outbuilding reworked as a flexible retreat for guests, work, or quiet escape.

"Working within the footprint of the original house, Hollaway Studio reconfigured the plan into a series of connected spaces that open gradually to the horizon. On arrival, the house frames a direct view west towards the new lighthouse, while living, dining and kitchen spaces unfold around shifting views of sea, garden and sky. White-painted, charred timber, black corrugated aluminum and Cor-Ten steel reflect the weathered monochrome of Dungeness itself, while polished concrete floors, made with locally sourced aggregate to match the surrounding shingle, bring the landscape indoors."