Charming Scandi Style Beach Living

St Valery is a 9-year-old home of charm which has the authentic look of a house that has existed in this unique beach-side location in Winchelsea for a hundred years.

This rare find is a charming mixture of Scandi style beach living and eco efficiency. Built just nine years ago, St Valery is a home full of charm and style, which has the authentic look of a house that has existed in this unique beach-side location in Winchelsea for a hundred years.

Built to the highest energy efficiency standards and with a 97% energy efficiency rating, the house exudes warmth of the literal and emotional kinds. Its easy flowing layout and modular build makes the house feel contemporary, relaxed and flexible. The Siberian larch exterior gives St Valery a timeless appeal and low maintenance upkeep.

The house is built on a raft foundation with a polished concrete floor which holds heat almost like a radiator and releases it when needed to keep an even temperature in the house throughout changing seasons. This means that for much of the year, there’s no need to turn on the heating. Solar panels blend in well on the roof and supply most of the electricity for the house and also provide hot water through the i-boost system. There is a provision for batteries to be installed.

Windows made by some of the world’s greatest window craftsmen in Denmark are also made from Siberian larch. Birch ply cladding features throughout the interior, which leans into that ageless design aesthetic.

The main open plan living space cleverly zones the kitchen, dining and relaxing areas and each window provides views of the garden and through some, a peep into the Victorian teak railway guardsman’s carriage, which creates a picturesque extra room or study with a wood burning stove and simple facilities to make it a useful guest room. A shower room finished with wonderful tiles is usefully placed on the ground floor. A full bathroom sits on the half landing leading to the bedrooms upstairs. Also on the ground floor is a spacious room which is currently used as a music room with a grand piano fitting in easily. This could also be a quiet room, family snug or additional bedroom if needed.

Upstairs is the main bedroom with double aspect views across to the sea on one side and to the nature reserve on the other. Lofty ceilings and clever storage lean into the Scandinavian aesthetic. The landing leads to three additional bedrooms. The modular form of the house means that the two bedrooms at the end of the house could easily become one larger room.

The private garden wraps around the entire house and has distinct areas for sitting, dining, growing and pottering. The planting is well thought through yet perfectly simple and never mannered. St Valery features each year in Winchelsea Beach open gardens. There is direct access from the yellow painted door between the utility room and the garden for hanging out the washing or dealing with the dog after a walk on the beach.

And the beach is just a short fifty metre walk away – a stretch of coast which is never noisy or overly busy and provides more appeal to bird watchers, swimmers, families and walkers rather than to noisy visitors. The entire area sits in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and links through to the sublime Rye Harbour Nature Reserve – a place of tranquillity, immense skies and a haven for birds from around the world.

This is a rare find indeed. A home which has been conceived in a thoroughly contemporary way, and which delivers a stylish and low maintenance, low energy lifestyle and has the bonus of being a heartbeat from the most magnificent beach and walking distance to local shops and amenities.