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The Househunter: A house by the sea

Right it’s official, the lockdown is easing and we’re officially allowed to spend the night away from home (in our bubbles) so I thought we should take a trip to the seaside, in our own virtual bubble, to look at this huge Georgian townhouse in fashionable Margate.

Who’s coming? It’s big enough for us to socially distance as we go round. It’s a Grade II listed house overlooking Hawley Square and while it has had many uses over the years it could be reconfigured as a seven bedroom property. Which would mean home offices for all the family, or rooms to let as the domestic holiday market is currently booming.

It’s on the market with Aucoot for £875,000 too, which, while I appreciate is a lot of money, it is also – to my jaded London property eyes – a lot of house for sald lot of money.

The White House is accessed via a rather fabulous marble staircase and while there are still plenty of original Georgian features inside – including “delicately crooked” floorboards – there is also a two floor modern (1960s) extension which means it could be adapted to a live/work space. Indeed the ground floor is currently used as a gallery.

Location-wise you are close to the cobbled old town,  the Turner art gallery and the sandy beach. And, if you are one of those who is able to keep working from home on a part, or full-time basis, this might also appeal as Margate recently received confirmation of £22 million funding as part of the Government’s Town Deal programme, so the area is on course for continued renovation across its creative, heritage and wellbeing sectors.

Historic buildings such as the Winter Gardens and Dreamland Cinema, are set to be refurbished, whilst better connections throughout the town will be implemented, making walking and cycling routes more attractive. Facilities and access to the coastline will also be improved, including that of Walpole Bay tidal pool – a local favourite apparently.

Margate train station is a 13-minute walk away, just the other side of Margate Beach. London can be reached directly in 1 hour and 24 minutes by rail. So who’s in? I do love a Georgian house…..

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

9 Comments

    1. Hi Dan, it’s holding up well – as I would expect and yes we do get lots of use out of it in winter. It’s very quick to heat a room and if you don’t feed it then it goes out so as we both work in different rooms we tend to light it to take the chill off and have breakfast/lunch and then let it die down.

  1. it is really beautiful but delicately crooked floors at 15% slope, it seems to me from the bathroom picture, mean a lot of work. However, gorgeous features.

  2. Finding myself really drawn to that pale yellow colour (fifth down) for an attic bedroom lately, having been off yellow for years. Anyone have any thoughts or shade recommendations?

    1. I was looking at Neptune’s Saffron last year and also Little Greene Pink Yellow is lovely. For Farrow & Ball I have used Citron and I love Babouche. But I am definitely at the dirty end of the yellow spectrum and I don’t like anything to fresh and primrose.

  3. Lovely. I’m off to Margate! Except, does it have a garden?? That may seem to be asking a lot given that the beach is very close by but I’m afraid it’s a deal breaker for me.

  4. Woah! Should really read before diving into the pics (hard to resist tho right?) – there’s me ‘It’s amazing! Their house is like an art gallery but what’s going on with the kitchen?’ Ha haaa. It’s a stunner.

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