There is something rather magical about arriving at Leigh Butler Dawson’s apartment, just north of Hastings Old Town. Venture down a hidden driveway and you happen across a large and handsome period property, sitting quietly on a leafy hillside overlooking roof tops to the sea below. One step inside the anonymous front door however and you are immediately enveloped in a world that feels at once dramatic and yet still personal, a family history that has been reimagined, not just as a renovation project, but as a new chapter in Leigh’s life. 

The property itself used to belong to Leigh’s late mother. As one of the area’s leading mortgage brokers, based at The Clock House in Sedlescombe, despite Leigh telling his mother not to make any rash decisions when she was initially looking to buy a property back in 2006, as soon as she spotted the duplex, with its sweeping views, she immediately offered well over the asking price. “Sixteen people wanted it at the time, and she secured it. I thought she was paying well over the odds for a view!” Leigh remembers fondly. “But now I live here, I know she made entirely the right decision. It’s a very special home, set in a very unique location.”

When his mother sadly died, quite suddenly in 2023, Leigh made the decision to move in. What began as a practical solution has slowly become something more profound: a chance to protect his mother’s legacy whilst also allowing his own interior design creativity to unfold. For Leigh – who has spent over two decades immersed in the mechanics of the housing market negotiating mortgages and valuations for thousands of clients – in this apartment, bricks and mortar have given way to something far more expressive.

“I’ve ended up investing around £200,000 into the renovation, which is a pretty bold figure for a Hastings apartment, but luckily, I do know what I’m doing,” he says, matter-of-factly. Years in the property world have given him confidence in both structure and value. And now, as interest rates ease and the property market shifts once more, the apartment stands as a testament to being both a wise investment as well as giving a blank canvas to Leigh’s own interior design outpourings. 

“I only realised in the last couple of years that I have quite severe ADHD,” he says openly. “For a lot of people, that comes with creativity.” The result is an interior style that he describes, with a smile, as a blend of steampunk, gothic and ‘dark academia’ which is rich in texture, colour and tone and unapologetically theatrical – dark chocolate browns, deep charcoals and forest greens, flamboyant antique mirrors, open copper pipework, taxidermy, vintage signage and chandeliers that would not look out of place in a Parisian townhouse. “I’ve always loved Batman,” laughs Leigh. “Everything’s dark and over-engineered. That probably says something about me, doesn’t it?!” But beneath the humour is a very real creative confidence. From the moment you enter the hallway, it is clear this is no ordinary renovation project.

Meticulously planned and executed panelling, made from MDF, wraps around all the walls, leading up a soaring staircase, creating rhythm and architectural presence where once there were plain ordinary surfaces. A crisp sisal stair runner takes you to the first floor living room which is the heart of the duplex, a room that perhaps captures Leigh’s interior transformation most clearly. This previously 1980s style interior, which Leigh’s mother had filled with antiques, has now been opened up and painstakingly restored or reinstated. Cornicing and ceiling roses all draw the eye upwards to the impressive ceiling heights which Leigh has punctuated with an ornate French Empire style crystal chandelier, sourced from Hastings Antiques Centre in the Old Town. 

Outside, the roof, the windows, the balcony and the garden below, have all been completely re-done. Full-height contemporary bi folds now replace the dated patio doors, flooding the room with light and opening up to the romantic views of the Old Town. Reconstituted flagstones and an elegant new metal balustrade replace old timbers; whilst Leigh’s addition of fluted columns either side of the doorway create the illusion of classical architectural heritage. “They’re not structural,” Leigh smiles, “but they frame the view well and they felt right.” 

Two red leather Chesterfield armchairs sit against charcoal panelled walls. An original marble fireplace anchors the space, while salvaged cast iron radiators, found via Facebook Marketplace and resprayed, add industrial texture. Antique mirrors reflect the subtle candle flames that flicker across every room in the property. Leigh has created instant sensory impact across his home, be that with texture, fragrance or lighting, which he has curated deliberately with an abundance of fairy lights, table lamps and subtle contemporary wall lights. “I hate overhead lighting,” says Leigh.

“I don’t want to see the bulb. I want to see the effect.” Despite the drama, it never feels too much, it just feels cocooning with textural cushions and taxidermy accents adding layers, without tipping into excess. 
The look is eclectic certainly, but with Leigh’s constrained natural colour palette it never becomes out of control.
Across the property Leigh has kept the

look consistent with the panelling and flooring, which he approaches like geometry. “With the panelling, you have to work from the main feature,” he explains. “Start with the doorway or the centre point and work outwards so the symmetry makes sense.” The result is subtle but powerful: a sense of proportion that feels intentional rather than just decorative. 

The kitchen tells yet another story, one of resourcefulness and reinvention. Rather than rip out his mother’s old cabinetry entirely, Leigh retained the original carcasses, repainting them in a rich aubergine from Albany paints, adding new Victorian-style beehive knobs. “There’s nothing wrong with the bones, it just needed a re-fresh,” he shrugs. He has added a new oak surround to house the second-hand cooker and oven, as well as a new surround for the fridge, elevating the everyday into something bespoke. Hexagonal copper tiles, discovered in a B&Q clearance sale after Leigh had nearly

committed to importing far pricier US versions, form a shimmering splashback. Scaffold boards have become open shelving. An old dresser top that once belonged to his mother now houses wine glasses, whilst antique shop finds and vintage signs, as well as various lighting pieces, inject industrial charm. Above the wooden worktop sits a huge metal fish sculpture made by local artist Leigh Dyer. It is a room that feels grounded and generous, a place where Leigh, a keen cook, can happily create meals for friends and family. 

Upstairs, the transformation becomes even more dramatic. The principal bedroom once had a conventional ceiling, concealing a large void above. In a bold move, Leigh removed it entirely, adding twin steel trusses (carefully positioned to allow for another French Empire style crystal chandelier to be attached) revealing a vaulted ceiling that now adds breathtaking volume and theatricality to the room. An exposed brick wall at one end of the room grounds the space within the history of the building. A second guest bedroom continues similar tonal expressions as the master bedroom, keeping the handwriting consistent and the flow of space effortless. For the built-in desk, positioned on the spacious landing outside the bedroom, and

again for the suspended dais sitting beneath the free-standing nickel bath in the bedroom, Leigh has featured torched timber, created from simple scaffolding boards. The Japanese yakisugi technique chars the wood to enhance durability and grain by removing the glucose. Now the roll-top bath is positioned perfectly in the window, its inhabitants able to drink in the sea view in complete privacy, whilst seeming to also float, a neat trick made possible by hidden lighting set under the raised dais. Above it, twin copper pipes cascade water into the tub, a detail inspired by the Crazy Bear boutique hotels, modified by Leigh to soften the sound of falling water. “It’s theatre,” Leigh admits, “but it works!”

The shower room next door continues the drama. Twin Thomas Crapper basins in blue sit atop another yakisugi timber support, complemented by the matt black Dyke & Dean fittings; twin heated mirrors glow warmly against walls painted in a deep Studio Green by Farrow & Ball. The walk-in shower features a bold experimental epoxy resin finish wall, creating what feels like a molten, abstract backdrop in burnt orange and indigo which pops against the dark tones of the panelled walls. As in the small toilet on the floor below, Leigh has featured high level toilet cisterns for a more traditional look. Whilst upstairs in the main bathroom he has used a Burlington cistern, downstairs he used a cheaper version and cleverly added a transfer from eBay to create the French antique style look that he was after, but at a fraction of the price. 
Throughout the apartment, copper pipework has been used deliberately as surface-mounted electrical conduit and plumbing pipe work. Like much of Leigh’s interior design approach, it is a practical solution that has been turned into an aesthetic feature. Other detailing such as rope edging along skirting boards nods playfully to boutique hotel influences and references the town’s nautical location, whilst vintage convex mirrors catch and bounce the light.

Every detail feels considered and yet for all its theatricality, Leigh has created an apartment that is warm and welcoming, whilst also honouring the memory of his mother. 
Halfway through the renovation, life has shifted again for Leigh. A new relationship has meant that he is now planning life with four children in tow. This has meant that what had started as a home for Leigh and his young son, might now no longer be his forever home. With a change of focus, Leigh has simply adapted, adjusting certain budgetary ceilings. The result is a property that balances personality with practicality. For someone whose professional life revolves around facilitating property transactions, Leigh is refreshingly philosophical about his next chapter. “If I were single, I’d stay here forever,” he admits. “When I sit here, looking out over Hastings Old Town, it feels like being on holiday every day, but who knows what the next chapter will bring?”

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To find out more about Prosper Home Loans @ The Clock House call 
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