Invited to a friend's amazing weekend retreat last weekend. Originally owned by Noel Coward no less, the house sits right on the edge of the sea, beneath the White Cliffs of Dover. Incredible. Although the interior decoration has changed over the years, you can still get a sense of how the inside of the house would have looked and the exuberant times that must surely have been had there.
Perhaps we weren't as glamorous as Noel's guests; Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Ian Fleming (who later lived in the house and wrote Moonraker) but we still had great fun.
The house and it's 3 neighbours sit close to the cliffs, stark white and imposing. They must have appeared incredibly contemporary when built in the 1920s. Would love to have been there then.
The four houses are all Art Deco in style but the exterior of the house we stayed in felt almost like a Swiss chalet with it's soft yellow shutters and red tiled roof.
The other houses are much more in keeping with the Art Deco style with rounded walls and metal window frames.
It was a real taste of a bygone era. Faded parquet flooring, arched door frames with chest high wooden door handles, Crittal windows and doors to the staff quarters.
Oh to be a fly on the wall when Noel Coward owned the house - the fun they must have had....
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