The two-bedroom house in question was tucked behind the busy high street and, although it was bang in the centre of a property hot spot, seemed as if it might be affordable: it hadn’t been lived in for years and had no services. In fact, it was so ramshackle that a neighbouring shop had been using it for storage. Cole was struck by its potential. “When I squinted through a hole in the bedroom ceiling and saw the mezzanine window in the loft, I visualised opening the upstairs into one big living space, with a sleeping platform, and having the bedrooms and bathroom downstairs.” After winning a sealed bid and putting his dreams of going abroad on hold, Cole set to work. Left with little money to renovate the house, he took on the labouring himself during gaps between jobs as an assistant director on film and television projects. It was the first time he had done anything like this. “The first six months were hell,” he laughs. “I was at the builder’s merchant every morning at 7am to ask any builders I met how to go about that day’s job. I was totally reliant on their goodwill.”
Over the past three years, Cole has re-roofed the house, torn down ceilings, installed new windows and stripped all the walls. It has been painstaking work, and he is justifiably proud. “Everything has come together as I saw it in that first flash,” he says. “Underneath the painted walls, I know the whereabouts of every nail, screw, brick course, timber plate, batten and cable.”
Outside, Cole has transformed the yard into an outdoor room with an integral fireplace, providing extra living space for the warmer months of the year. He has also converted the old brick shed into a self-contained unit with a kitchen and shower room.
The only unresolved issue is how to define the style of the place. “Some friends say it’s Hoxton loft style at the seaside, others say it’s Greek island,” says Cole, who stays here between film projects. But the sign above the door still calls it The Cottage, and he has no intention of changing that.
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The Cottage is available for holiday lets through Lyme Bay Holidays; 01297 443363, www.lymebayholidays.co.uk