CABIN BY THE SEA
From "Colt House" to "Cult House"
Carmel Cottage is an original 1960s kit home – a “Colt House”. Originally founded in 1919 Colt was a company building poultry houses, which progressed to providing timber-framed houses in 1931 and still exists to the present day.
Initially, the property was purchased for the site itself, as it sits perched above the white cliffs of the south coast with commanding views over the channel to France. The house itself was unprepossessing, with tired cedar boarding and white windows and rainwater goods so it was earmarked for demolition.
On closer inspection however, it had a well-designed, modular layout with generous room sizes and well thought-out storage. The idea to retain and refurbish was born. This approach also offered a more sustainable solution of retaining and reusing rather than wholesale demolition – at least for the medium term. Therefore the brief was to utilise as much of the existing fabric as possible, sourcing reclaimed or repurposed fittings as a first option, with the second option to utilise products with a recycled content.
