Saltwater is known for its healing qualities and just being by the sea can profoundly affect our emotional state.
After Leah Goodliffe lost her baby boy in January 2018, she felt a huge pull to be by the sea leading her to find the place that was to become Filey Beach House and offer her comfort in the dark days.
'After losing Harry, I just wanted to be near water – I had this obsession with water', she says.
Two years later she found herself on RightMove searching for properties in Filey, after a friend moved there.
She was blown away with the house and its amazing sea views and remembers, 'It was an obsession, an infatuation, I had to have that house, I don’t think I’ve ever felt a pull quite like it.' She needed determination to tackle the renovation project, faced with obstacles in the form of asbestos, accessibility, major subsidence, and rogue builders.
Planning restrictions in the area meant Leah wasn’t simply allowed to knock down the existing house and start again; instead she had to rebuild the house on top of the existing build.
The house had to be stripped and propped up while the foundations were hand dug.
All the while, Leah refused to stand back, instead choosing to get her hands dirty by smashing up concrete and loading skips. Luckily, she had help in the form of her partner, Kov Bahadori, and his dad, as well as her own parents.
What would normally have taken most people years to complete, ended up taking Leah just 18 months to turn the run-down wreck into the striking coastal beauty it is today.
The result of that hard graft is a high-spec home perfect for a family of three generations to enjoy featuring three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an open plan living space, outside decking area with sublime panoramic views over Filey Bay - and private beach access.
With a clear vision in mind, Leah did all the interior design herself.
'I wanted a living/dining/kitchen area that would be a large open plan family space,' she says, explaining her thought process behind the design.
'For me, as a mum. I spend a lot of my time tied to that kitchen sink and I wanted the best view on the Yorkshire coast while making dinner, so I put the sink in the middle of it all.' says Leah who is mum to Cora, age seven, and Hattie, four.
Her favourite part of the house though is from the left-hand side of the chesterfield sofa where you get the best view of the bay and cliffs: 'to me, the view is just everything.'
Creating a space of serenity where guests could come and escape to was just as important as highlighting the view: 'I wanted it to have a calming, tranquil effect on people. So many of my guests say they feel as though I’ve cast a spell on them. The standard three-letter response is WOW and then they just stop and look. It’s just a sense of escapism in the house where you’re just escaping the real world. There are not many places like it.'
This escape factor has become the home’s niche, with many people staying not only to celebrate, but also to heal as they watch the waves and walk on the beach.
A project that once gave Leah a sense of escapism and solace from the real world herself, has now come full circle, allowing her to pass this gift onto all who step through the doors of Filey Beach House.
Prices for 4 nights start from £995 in low season and sleeps seven
For more information and to book, visit fileybeachhouse.com
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