Longshore House

An irresistible medley of sharp limestone floors and enormous exposed beams, this boutique style self-catering house in Laugharne manages to achieve something pretty tricky in ‘Dylan Thomas country’: drop-dead glam décor within a traditional Welsh stone cottage skin. Built sometime around the 1770s, none of the character of Longshore House has been compromised in its up-to-the-second modernisation. Swathes of Mulberry and Designers Guild fabrics stretch sumptuously alongside heavy glass lamps and clear acrylic chairs.  Creaky cottage doors and enormous ship timber beams cast a watchful eye over their Noughties counterparts, ensuring the house remains true to its 18th-century roots. The result is a perfect combination of red-hot style and relaxed seclusion – buried at the end of a tiny Laugharne lane.

Waking up in Longshore House is quite an experience. The church bells that have roused Laugharne residents since the 13th-century gently pull you into the world; bird song filling the peaceful hours between chimes. Look out of the window and rose-rambingly twee cottages nestle all around you. A duck under the beams and a pad down the wide staircase will take you past the three bedrooms and into the heart of the house. The aroma of fresh coffee wafts through the sparkling kitchen, past the dining room and conservatory and out into the garden, where breakfast is best enjoyed under a baby blue Welsh sky.

The owners, interior designer Lesley Taylor-Bottomley and her husband Kevin, run their company Taylor’s Etc from stores in Cardiff, Swansea and Narberth and have left no corner of this house un-dazzled by their designer fingertips. Zoffany and Philippe Starck magic bobs and weaves across heel-cooling limestone floors, up and around fresh stargazer lilies and Venetian mirrors and over soft throws on crisp linen-covered beds. Natural Magic scented candles perch on sills, Branche d’Olive aromatic soaps and oils send fragrances flying from room to room; this isn’t simply about the décor – it’s an enveloping sensual experience.

This delicate declaration of design extends to the three bedrooms: two doubles, one twin. Rich, floor-length drapes shut the world out, whilst aromatherapy-spritzed sheets gently tuck you in. An in-room roll-top bath here, a Twenties dressing table there; this is rustic-Deco décor punctuated with all the sharp lines and glass touches you’d expect of the Noughties. The high-design bathroom and wet room have been created using the very best products. Exclusive Starck brassware and iridescent mosaic floor tiles from Italy blend seamlessly with natural stone and floor spotlighting. With a step-up square bath so deep that you soak shoulder-deep whilst sitting upright, bathing is the ceremony that the Abahna toiletries promise it will be. A surprise staircase leads you up further into an attic room bursting with a side serving of throws, cushions and bean bags, to go with the main dish of a 50-inch TV and Nintendo Wii. This is the perfect space for raucous parties, children, and do-not-disturb reading moments alike.

But as its show-off bath suggests, Longshore House, like its Laugharne neighbour Dylan, was born to entertain. The soft brown leather and the woollen throws of the living room serve to adorn the focal point of the room – and house – an inglenook fireplace so large it practically needs its own postcode. You can imagine the original owners of the house in a tin bath by the fire (a trend to bring back?) in a space that now begs guests to lie back with a bottle of red from the pantry and a slab of local mustard and ale cheese. To the rear of the state-of-the-art self-catering kitchen, where Barabrith cake can be ordered and found baking on arrival, lies a dining room for six and a further conservatory reception room. Beyond that is a south-facing, manicured garden (and a long-lost well, apparently) overlooked by Laugharne Castle. Ideal for both summer parties and cosy winter retreats, Longshore House makes no apology for its pristine – yet relaxed – party-perfect credentials.

Often it’s tempting to hide away in a rented house, leaving only to top up milk and wine supplies. But the beauty of Longshore House is that it sits in the nucleus of the tiny stone-clad township of Laugharne – the size of a very small village – so everything is already on your doorstep. Literally. Turn right out of the back gate and in front of you is Grist Square with its cluster of pubs, cafés and simple restaurants. The inspiration for Thomas’s Under Milk Wood, Laugharne is full of charm and friendly locals ready to point you in the direction of the Pembrokeshire coastline. Now, finally, it has its own luxurious rental property to match.

Review: Charlotte Crisp

Back to top