No. 7 The Beach Porthtowan

Interior Design Project For A Beach Apartment In Cornwall

This holiday let apartment is situated in an awe-inspiring position, high above Porthtowan beach, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It is the perfect setting for my contemporary seaside interior décor.

My clients purchased the fully furnished apartment in March 2020, which was already let as a holiday home through Beach Retreats. The owners wanted to let the property right away, so not to miss out on Spring/Summer bookings (before we knew, that we were going into lockdown, due to the virus pandemic).

With time of the essence, this meant that the beds in the property and wall colours had to stay. Thankfully the walls and furniture were a neutral white and would work with the new interior scheme proposed.

My clients wanted the apartment to feel comfortable, as they wanted guests to feel like they were in a space which was a home away from home. They also intend to use the apartment a lot themselves during holidays, and so briefed a scheme that was more in tune with the relaxed coastal location. I created a mood board which pulled on colours seen from the ceiling to floor windows; a muted colour palette of pale blues, sea greens and washed out neutrals.

Starting with the design of  the living space, I opted for a fabulous loose weave fabric for the curtains to frame the sea view. As the curtains did not need to be lined, I could introduce a natural fabric which would tie-in with the scheme. The fabric is called Ghostnet from Ian Sanderson and is very similar to driftnets, so perfect for the location.

The old sofa was replaced with a more stylish and comfortable one in Highland Tweed from sofa.com and I introduced a gorgeous contemporary rocking chair and cute round footstool in a fabric called Seaweed, also from sofa.com. To add a boho chic coastal twist to the scheme and texture, I opted for neutral fringed cushions to complement the sofa.

To complete the living room coastal look, I chose a bespoke natural sisal rug with a Storm Blue cotton binding, and a unique tree root coffee table with glass top from Sustainable Furniture. I played with natural materials in the scheme as not to detract from the view.

In the open plan dining space, I purchased a grey wash table and dining chairs from loaf.com to continue the coastal theme for the client. Comfortable leather stools, also from loaf.com, were added to the breakfast bar to tie-in with the contemporary living look.

In the master bedroom, I used the same Ghostnet fabric but in a denim blue and  added a blackout lining to the curtains. This fabric works wonderfully with the natural rattan chair I purchased for the client. The chair and bed are dressed with pale grey and soft yellow velvet cushions with coordinating (but not matching) wool throws.

In the twin bedroom, I simply added bright yellow and white striped cushions and throws to the beds and used bright yellow reading lamps on the bedside table. The yellow contrasting against the white makes the room feel more spacious and comfortable for a relaxing bedtime for kids and the young at heart.

This has to be one of my favourite design schemes. Working within budget and to brief, the apartment has been completely transformed to feel more comfortable and contemporary, mirroring its stunning coastal location.

The property is available to rent through Beach Retreats.

For free interior design advice, head to Tracey’s blog.