Vincis, Portreath

The Property:

An epic coastal, get-away, Vincis is perched high above the pretty seaside village of Portreath. A super-luxe beach house holiday home, it makes the most of its jaw-dropping sea views with glass frontage throughout.  

The Client Brief:

The client had owned the site for many years and had knocked down the original house to build the new property, maximising the space and footprint. Having lived in the original property, they are familiar with the outlook and the way the site works, so they had designed the new house to take advantage of their position above Portreath. The clients project-managed their own build and asked for Elaine’s help when they got to the tricky stage of making many design decisions for the interiors, for furnishing only. Elaine worked with one of the clients closely, and met with her many times to understand her vision: principally, the need for the view to be the priority, and for the mixture of existing and new furniture to be natural and flowing.

The Process:

The client had come so far with the project that she didn’t want to hand over everything to Elaine, wanting to stay very much involved in the selection and purchasing of the furnishings. Together they scoped out what was needed and Elaine put forward the suggestions and the colour scheme, working with many pieces of furniture that the client already had. The client also paid for Elaine to spend a few days on site positioning everything and organising artwork and accessories throughout. When the client went shopping, she would send Elaine possibilities and Elaine would say yes, or bin it! The relationship was such that the client valued Elaine’s honesty and ability to say when something was really unsuitable.

The Result:

Getting the mix of furniture right is not as easy as it looks. On one hand, you don’t want it to look like a junk shop. On the other hand, you don’t want it all sharp and new. Blending all of these types of furniture is an art; a secret recipe that Elaine is not going to give away! It is a bit of knowing what does and doesn’t work, as a result of 30 years’ experience. The result is a comfortable and sympathetically designed interior that has taken existing furniture and combined it with modern, up to date design, to create a fabulous, luxurious coastal home

‘Thank you Elaine for immediately grasping what I was trying to achieve, for all your support and expertise and for keeping me on track, when I had a wobble over paint colours.’