FINDING MY SALT HAVEN
On reflection, I think every home I’ve lived in has been my SALT HAVEN!
What do I mean by that? Well, my homes have always, always been a sanctuary from the world. I’m by no means a recluse but oh I love my home and what it means to me. In my corporate job especially I’d pretty much count down the time to when I’d be back on my sofa, reading in bed, or relaxing with a glass of wine in the kitchen.
My experience in the corporate world was always about pushing me out of my comfort zone – going that bit further, taking on the next challenge and my home was such an important respite from that. Not that all of my time in that world was unpleasant of course – far from it, I learnt so much about myself, made some friends for life and travelled the world. For a previous NHS manager that was so fun and exciting….especially the business class lounge hahaha. But my home was my saviour, where I could be truly me and where I felt completely safe. It breathed life back in to me and helped me to steady myself for what was to come next.
I’ve always had a strong desire to create a haven from my homes. The first flat Johnny and I owned together was a stone’s throw from Wandsworth Common with a garden that exceeded 100ft – as anyone will know, that’s pretty rare in London! Johnny took on the garden and I the interior – it was a symbiotic harmony which has continued. He’s the ying to my yang. We had a big open plan room at the back of the building, looking out on to all the greenery and it felt like a world away from the hustle and bustle of the City. I’d always dreamt of a Victorian terraced house in London though so that prompted our next move, helped along by the next promotion (further out of my comfort zone).
The move to our little house in Balham was most definitely not the head decision but my heart pretty much dictates most things in my life and luckily on this one, Johnny agreed! We’d dismissed what would become our lovely home a few times (online)….expensive per sq ft and it was back on the market again (so something must be wrong with it). But the buyers of our flat wanted to be in by Christmas and it being mid-October, we were feeling the pressure somewhat. We arranged to see everything in the local area in our budget that weekend. As soon as we walked in to that house, we were in love. We didn’t care for what our heads were telling us, this was home. We moved in 2 months later. Some places just have a feel that you can’t put your finger on. We extended the kitchen a couple of years later and added to our renovation experience – it became our dream home. I felt so lucky to have enjoyed a year of my first maternity leave in that house. I still miss it, I think I always will a bit. It had a completely private garden, it was on a super quiet street but you could hear the distant sounds of the busy city life going on beyond (which I loved). And the way the light moved around the house during the day caught me every time, it was so good for the soul. I cried so much when we left that place.
We only really moved for financial reasons – I wanted to work differently and freeing ourselves of some of our financial commitments was the only thing to do really. Johnny’s only requirement – if it wasn’t our beloved London, it had to be on the coast or very close by. We found ourselves in deepest darkest West Dorset. Our house had been on the market for 6 months. It was in a lovely village, set in the middle of the plot so it had a generous front garden and out of every window was green. But the house itself had a bit of a strange feel about it - most of it hadn’t been touched for 20 years at least, it had been a second home for a few years and a B&B before that – it felt like it didn’t really have an identity. It had more greying artex than you could throw a stick and most of it felt so dark. It was a very different viewing experience to our London home! But we loved the location. It was in the middle of a beautiful village surrounded by thatched cottages….I’d always dreamt of living somewhere like this. It was a short walk to the sea, we could hear the sea from the house and importantly for some soon-to-be ex-Londoners, it had an award-winning pub a stone’s throw away and a boutique hotel on the cliff where you could enjoy cocktails with a sea view.
So the house wasn’t right for us as it was but I had a feeling we could make it so. It needed someone to take it in to its next chapter, breathe some life back in to it and give it some identity. I decided that was us. Johnny was slightly taken aback when I announced this on the drive back to London that evening. 3.5 years and a head to toe renovation later, this once dark and dingey artex abode is now completely light-filled. We installed roof lights wherever we could and took down as many walls as the building would allow (within reason)! I knew it would bring us a lifestyle that would be a little slice of heaven for us and our boys.
The light, peacefulness and tranquillity that we’ve breathed in to this house yet again make it a haven for us. Johnny’s busy working on a beautiful garden scheme – that’s as important in creating your own little sanctuary but the inside initially took priority especially once water started pouring through the ceiling a few months after we moved in…! I thought I’d always regret leaving London….and like I said I still miss that beautiful house we had if I think about it for too long. But I feel so lucky to have been able to find a home here and to transform it how we have, it was such a labour of love (in planning and design….we did very little heavy lifting!) but seeing the potential and what it could become lit the fires beneath us yet again. Salt Haven is all about creating tranquil living environments and really connecting to your home, but it’s also connecting with the building, doing it justice, bringing it to life, taking it in to its next chapter. I love that so much that I decided I had to help others to do that with their homes….but I also know there’s at least another renovation up our sleeves at some point (sorry Johnny, it feels like my calling).