For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always ourselves that we find in the sea.” So wrote E. E. Cummings in his poem, ‘maggie and milly and molly and may’, but it could easily have been written for Coastguards Cottage, a 4-bedroom seaside haven sitting peacefully on the edge of Camber Sands beach, transformed from its eponymous original workspace designation by award-winning interior architect, Marta Nowicka.

Inspired by her late, sea-loving father and the sailing adventures they enjoyed together, Marta was drawn to the idea of a bolthole on the coast, and when the property popped up on Rightmove she went to visit it immediately; “It was in a terrible state of repair,” says Marta, “it had been rented out to some people who were essentially using it as a junkyard, and it had become a blight on the landscape.”

Many people might have balked at such an overwhelming project, but Marta is no stranger to reimagining rundown spaces. With a degree in interior architecture, she worked for a number of clients all over Europe before deciding to start her own property development business focusing on commercial projects. When she arrived at the property to find that the previous occupants had stripped absolutely everything out upon their departure, from the taps to the radiators, she was unperturbed, instead grasping the opportunity of a blank canvas. “I noticed that all the original panelling was there on the staircase, the original cupboards and doors and floors. All the elements were already present, it was just a case of putting in new electrics and new plumbing and central heating and trying to make it as cosy as possible.”

With a very limited budget, she put her contacts to good use, bringing her team of builders down to the coast where they completed the first phase of renewal in just four months. Marta was keen to keep things simple in homage to the pared back live-work space that it used to be, painting the walls white, allowing the changing colours of the Cottage’s surrounds to play on the surfaces to full effect. “I did try swatches of colour, but the light is so strong, so powerful, so beautiful that it actually doesn’t need anything at all.” On some of the walls where they removed wallpaper, the colour from the wallpaper had seeped into the original plaster, creating a mottled pattern of pinks and blues that mirrored the raw beauty of the seascape. “I decided to leave these walls as they are,” explains Marta, “but I have tried to add in some pops of colour around the rooms using prints or accessories.

In the morning room there is a striped print which reminded me of the quintessential seaside deck-chair stripe but without the reference being too overt.”
This subtlety extends throughout the house, which manages to convey both a sea-worn rusticity and hot cup-of-tea cosiness all at once. “I decided to use thick, linen curtains with insects on them because one thing about being by the sea, you get masses of insects. You are literally in the midst of all this amazing wildlife and nature, and I think people forget that, so I wanted to embrace it.”

Originally designed to be a second home for Marta and her 8-year-old son, the first summer they counted 86 people who came to stay: “Having this house next to the sea, I said to friends, you have to come, and everybody came! It was chaos but it was brilliant, a happy time full of fun – non-stop fires and barbeques and long walks.” The decision to rent out the property as a holiday let emerged organically from this stream of visitors, as friends of friends asked if they could stay, and they offered to pay for the privilege. “I had always been focused on commercial property,” says Marta. “I had never thought of doing short stays, but Coastguard’s Cottage was the springboard for adding another side to the business.”

Three years ago, Marta took advantage of permitted development rights to improve the property further, extending a narrow galley kitchen on the raised ground floor into a kitchen dining area. “I hated being stuck in the kitchen while everyone else was in the dining room or sitting room. It felt like a 1950s house, not how I live now at all.”

The result of ‘phase 2’ is a beautiful, minimalist space that takes full advantage of its surroundings. The trifecta of large, single pane glass in the window, ceiling and door of the kitchen provides a cinematic panorama which allows all the wondrous drama of mother nature to surround you while you enjoy the comfort of a hearty meal and the warmth from the white enamel wood burner.

“From the table, you can see the sky above the sea, which is constantly changing. You have all the seasons happening in one day sometimes, and it faces west so you get these incredible sunsets.” A wooden bench goes all the way around the room, offering an ideal place to remove your boots after a wind-swept walk and whisk them underneath, and there’s also a shower room just inside the door for when you have come in straight from the sea – if you haven’t already used the hot and cold showers outside!

Marta wanted the kitchen to speak to the work ethic of the coastguards, and to the utilitarian origins of the house, so originally considered a timber top but realised this would be impractical with hot pans. “This was essentially a commercial kitchen at one point, so I decided to use really thin stainless steel for the work surfaces, and then oak around the window to mirror the new oak steps.” She also wanted to ensure the very best quality for the kitchen, using the same kitchen maker that she uses for all her projects: “I use a German company called Rotpunkt, and the mechanics are just perfect.

Twenty five years down the line you will find the drawers still self-close perfectly, and they are beautifully made.”
Leading off from the kitchen are two sitting rooms, both with wood burners. One has a table for homework or working from home, whilst the cosy space next to the kitchen offers a more formal area to hang out in. This attention to accommodating for different needs is what makes the perfect setup for a holiday bolt-hole. “I wanted the house to have all these different zones – watching Netflix or playing games in the back room, having a drink by the fire in the middle sitting room and chatting whilst doing the cooking in the kitchen.” The Edwardian fireplaces have been restored, but not perfected, adding a seaworthy roughness to the space that nudges you inexorably into a nearby cosy sofa or armchair, and the wooden floorboards and simple lighting all work to connect the interior with the rugged external landscape. “People call it shabby chic,” says Marta, “but I don’t think it’s shabby or chic. That’s just how it was, and I left it how it was.”
The garden, a hidden treasure secluded behind a wall of scaffold boarding, includes a lawn of wildflowers and offers a collection of beautiful driftwood and other things drawn up from the beach. It is both wild and welcoming, providing a number of spaces to retreat to depending on the weather. There’s a sunken firepit surrounded by steps and a windbreak made from scaffold boards, as well as a timber gazebo that shelters a long table that nestles in amongst an array of pebbles, stepping stones and even an old wooden boat repurposed as a flower bed. “If it’s a windy day, the firepit is a really nice nook to sit in, while the gazebo is great in the summer as it offers some shade and a barbeque. We also have the terrace steps where everybody sits in a very laissez faire way, basking in the sun.”
Elsewhere in the house, Marta also took the opportunity when doing the kitchen to excavate downwards to create two further bedrooms and a bathroom on the lower ground floor. There is no hint of over-the-top seaside references, only the quiet emulation of the beach in the use of terrazzo tiles in the bathroom. “I wanted it to be a continuation of the outside, for the wet areas to look like you are still on the beach. It’s a beautiful terrazzo that just looks like beach pebbles,” says Marta.

Even the stairs have been left to sing a shanty about the past. When Marta first arrived, they were covered in a piece of lino going up the centre of the stairs with paint on either side, but rather than give them a full makeover she decided to embrace the history they held: “We took the lino off and the paint on the edges had all been chipped. My painter said, “I’ll paint all this and make it good,” but I loved the effect, so instead we just cleaned and sanded them and that was that.” At the top of the house, Marta decided to utilise the height and the beams to create a unique bedroom space. What could have been an awkward area to incorporate into the house feels natural because of its location, akin to being inside a boat cabin, not least because access to the room is via a stairway in the style of a ship’s ladder and a balustrade made of real rope, complete with monkey knot. This together with the simplicity of the tongue-and-groove walls and the furniture (just a large bed and chest of drawers) create a charming space where you are both at one with, and protected from, the elements. “It feels quite adventurous, this space,” elaborates Marta, “like you’re going up to the crow’s nest of the building. Through the big velux windows you can only see sky, and when it’s cold and windy outside, it’s really warm in there and you can just cosy up in bed.” This room, along with a bedroom on the lower ground floor, benefit from phenomenal sunrise views all the way to Dungeness, and then the whole house is a spectator as the sun moves across the sea and sets over the garden. “The house experiences all these different swathes of light as the day unfolds. You feel very connected to nature and it is definitely good for the soul”.

Marta has since refurbished a St John Ambulance station in the medieval port town of Rye, also available for short stays, alongside several properties in London. You can explore these, as well as her collection of beautifully renovated homes for long-term rental, online at domstay.com.