My Houzz: A Wartime Relic Is Now a Vacation Hideaway
Built to house trans-Atlantic cables, this comfy Welsh cottage has a smart layout and coastal views
John Marsh and Eleanor Winn took an active approach to house hunting. As they encountered places during their travels, they noted those they liked and contacted the owners. This Welsh home was one of them. “We wrote a letter, and two months later the owner said, ‘I’m thinking of selling; come and see it,’” Marsh says.
The metal hut and its attached stone cottage were in poor condition back then, requiring a new roof, wiring and plumbing and a refinishing of the walls throughout. The place also needed new windows and floors and a new kitchen and bathroom. The effort, though, was well worth it, resulting in a coastal gem of a home.
The metal hut and its attached stone cottage were in poor condition back then, requiring a new roof, wiring and plumbing and a refinishing of the walls throughout. The place also needed new windows and floors and a new kitchen and bathroom. The effort, though, was well worth it, resulting in a coastal gem of a home.
The hut has a fascinating history. “During World War I, it was one of the main communication links with North America,” Marsh says. “It housed cables that went under the sea to Ireland, across Ireland via the land, across to Canada, then by land down to New York and Washington.”
The hut was where the cables terminated, while the stone building was where the keeper lived. Soldiers were stationed outside to guard the strategic link during the war.
As communications improved, though, the facility that had allowed telegrams to be exchanged between London and Washington was left to go to rack and ruin, and it was abandoned until the previous owner reclaimed it as a scenic hideaway.
The hut was where the cables terminated, while the stone building was where the keeper lived. Soldiers were stationed outside to guard the strategic link during the war.
As communications improved, though, the facility that had allowed telegrams to be exchanged between London and Washington was left to go to rack and ruin, and it was abandoned until the previous owner reclaimed it as a scenic hideaway.
Finding a contractor to take on the work wasn’t simple. “It’s a very small, finicky job renovating a tiny cable hut, and it put a lot of people off,” Marsh says. “Eventually, I got a local farmer-builder to do it.”
Working on the interior once the major renovations were complete was much easier. The black and white of the exterior repeat inside in the contrast of walls and beams and in the furniture and fixtures. The soft furnishings provide bright accents.
Interior designer Paul Hervey found furniture and accessories with an industrial feel to nod to the history of the building. Many, like the spool table and the wall clock, came from eBay.
Metal sideboard and Key Wood armchair: Tikamoon; Madison and Mondo fabrics: Melin Tregwynt
Working on the interior once the major renovations were complete was much easier. The black and white of the exterior repeat inside in the contrast of walls and beams and in the furniture and fixtures. The soft furnishings provide bright accents.
Interior designer Paul Hervey found furniture and accessories with an industrial feel to nod to the history of the building. Many, like the spool table and the wall clock, came from eBay.
Metal sideboard and Key Wood armchair: Tikamoon; Madison and Mondo fabrics: Melin Tregwynt
The bedroom-cum-living space is in the hut, which used to house the cables “like an old telephone exchange,” Marsh says. The seating area takes advantage of the sea views, with the sleep space at the other end of the room. Local materials were used where possible, including fabrics from Melin Tregwynt, the nearby wool mill.
Iron bed: John Lewis; pillows and Broadstripe throws in red: Melin Tregwynt
Iron bed: John Lewis; pillows and Broadstripe throws in red: Melin Tregwynt
The interior walls of the hut are covered in tongue-and-groove paneling, whose knots contribute to the building’s character. The sign over the iron bed is a salvaged piece found by Hervey.
Ribbed knit bedcover: John Lewis
Ribbed knit bedcover: John Lewis
From the kitchen, which is in the white cottage, there’s a view through to the metal hut.
The flooring is distressed engineered oak, selected to work well with the underfloor heating that warms the home.
Flooring: Wood2U
The flooring is distressed engineered oak, selected to work well with the underfloor heating that warms the home.
Flooring: Wood2U
Hervey found a neat round table to create a dining area in a corner of the kitchen. The table and chairs continue the industrial ambiance.
Dining table: French Connection; Toledo stools: Cult Furniture; browse industrial-style dining chairs
Dining table: French Connection; Toledo stools: Cult Furniture; browse industrial-style dining chairs
Modest dimensions and a long list of must-have elements — including cooktop-oven, washer-dryer, dishwasher and farmhouse sink — made the kitchen challenging for Marsh to plan. “Because it’s a small room, rather than big cupboards there are solid oak shelves on the wall,” he says.
The Pros and Cons of Upper Kitchen Cabinets and Open Shelves
The Pros and Cons of Upper Kitchen Cabinets and Open Shelves
Marsh stretched his budget by using economical cabinet boxes with more expensive door fronts in the kitchen. Like the shelves, the countertops are oak, but it’s a substantial end-grain version. “It weighs a ton, and I have to oil it every year,” he says. “But wood’s a lovely material, and I think it gives it a more natural, [homey] feel.”
The window shade is also made from fabric from the local wool mill.
Cooke & Lewis Carisbrooke framed doors and drawer fronts: B&Q; countertops: Norfolk Oak
Your Guide to 15 Popular Kitchen Countertop Materials
The window shade is also made from fabric from the local wool mill.
Cooke & Lewis Carisbrooke framed doors and drawer fronts: B&Q; countertops: Norfolk Oak
Your Guide to 15 Popular Kitchen Countertop Materials
The small bathroom doesn’t compromise on luxury. Besides the tub, it has a walk-in shower.
The black-and-white theme inspired by the exterior continues in here with local Welsh slate floor tiles contrasting with the white subway wall tiles. The washstand, found on eBay, picks up the pairing with its black granite top. Black crops up in a picture frame and accessories too.
The black-and-white theme inspired by the exterior continues in here with local Welsh slate floor tiles contrasting with the white subway wall tiles. The washstand, found on eBay, picks up the pairing with its black granite top. Black crops up in a picture frame and accessories too.
Marsh chose a short, high bathtub that enables a long soak with a view to the sea but that doesn’t crowd the room. “You sit in there with your knees tucked up and water up to your neck,” he says of the freestanding design.
Tubby bathtub: Albion; find more freestanding slipper tubs
Tubby bathtub: Albion; find more freestanding slipper tubs
The front door of the home leads directly into the kitchen. The black refrigerator is part of the monochrome palette that links inside and outside.
Refrigerator: Gorenje
Should You Get a Black Refrigerator?
Refrigerator: Gorenje
Should You Get a Black Refrigerator?
The house has a generous garden with plenty of seating areas from which to enjoy the fresh air and views.
The home is in a National Trust area, so approval was necessary for changes like the new windows and the new metal sheeting on the hut’s exterior, which had to be replaced on a like-for-like basis.
“A lot of Welsh farm buildings are covered in the same iron finish, and it’s generally black,” Marsh says.
“A lot of Welsh farm buildings are covered in the same iron finish, and it’s generally black,” Marsh says.
The couple uses the place as a vacation home and visit regularly.
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: John Marsh and Eleanor Winn when on vacation
Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales
Size: One living room-bedroom, one bathroom
Designer: Paul Hervey of PHI Concepts
The hut and cottage are in a peaceful location near Abermawr Beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales. “You can see one other cottage across the valley,” Marsh says. “The striking thing is, when you arrive and turn off the headlights, it’s pitch-black and you can’t see the ground when you step out of the car.”