The Wood is a beautiful property that sleeps up to 18 people and hovers over South Sands on the edge of Salcombe. Having provided property management services to owners Sally and David for more than 10 years, The Wood was one of the first properties to join the Pebbles portfolio. It was a mark of the quality of that relationship that when they sold the property to new owners Martin and Ursula, they recommended continuing the property’s partnership with Pebbles.
This began with a refurbishment programme by our Refurb team, covering both the interior and exterior of the property.
The scope of works included:
- Installation of a replacement bespoke lighting design scheme throughout
- Reskimming of walls and ceilings
- Complete interior redecoration
- Custom built wardrobes and kitchen unit
- Sanding floors
- New carpets
- Removal of old Aga and installation of a new one
- Painting of property exterior
Pebbles came highly recommended by the people we bought the house from, and as we do not live close by it was going to be extremely difficult to keep an eye on things ourselves. Ursula, home owner
Planning in the summer sun
Naturally, in the first year of owning the property, Ursula, Martin and their family were keen to get into their house and enjoy the best of the summer months. So works began in 2018 by painting the exterior of the house and changing the colour from a summery yellow to a chic light grey.
While the family took full advantage of the exceptional sunshine that year, plans were put in place to turn the inside of the large property from a cosy holiday home to a chic seaside retreat.
Designer lighting
Ursula and Martin enlisted the help of London based lighting designers, John Cullen, to design a lighting scheme that would really bring the property to life and create an ambient mood for any occasion. Having received the lighting design, Refurb then tendered for a local supplier to carry out the installation of the plan.
As the electrics at the property had not been updated for a number of years, the installation included a full rewiring. As a result, many of the walls needed skimming afterwards including all the downstairs ceilings. Refurb planned and managed the works including a complete redecoration upstairs and downstairs, the creation of bespoke wardrobes in the master bedroom, new carpets and sanding and oiling any original hardwood floors.
Old kitchen, bespoke facelift
The existing kitchen at The Wood was a lovely, bespoke design which had become a little dated over the years. Rather than replace such beautiful craftsmanship, the cabinets were painted in the family’s chosen colour scheme.
To fill a gap left by the original fridge, the help of former boatbuilder and expert carpenter, Crispin Born, was enlisted. Crispin has created a custom made unit to house the new fridge, mimicking the style of the existing units. The result was perfect. The tiles were also replaced and the existing four stove Aga removed and replaced with a newer model, which required a crane and a lot of courage!
“They added value by making everything easier. I might have been able to do it myself but Kat is able to do it much better because it’s her job. She has good relationships with the different contractors, and she’s there when we’re not, which is crucial. We also know that if she’s going to use her contractors again then it’s in everyone’s interests for the project to go well. So the extra cost of having her project management team involved felt like money well spent.”
Ursula, Property Owner
Find out more about Ursula's experience.
