A NEW PERSPECTIVE

After years in London, a move to a fixer-upper by the sea took Ann Louise Roswald and her family back home

- CLAIRE BINGHAM

Dining room When it's warm, the doors are open to give the feel of eating alfresco. Finnish Secto pendant lights, twentytwentyone

Dining room The portrait of Ann Louise that hangs above the G Plan sideboard is by artist Natasha Law, who is a family friend. Eames chairs, Vitra

Surrounded by fields and a breathtaking view of Whitby Abbey, this reimagined manor house cuts a fabulous figure. Home to fashion designer Ann Louise Roswald and husband Nick Hartley, who is the founder of The Baytown Coffee Company (baytowncoffeecompany.com), this rural renovation project is a far cry from their former east London loft. Here, there are acres of land and a beach hut where the couple and their four children decamp on a summer's afternoon to swim, surf or barbecue.

Although she grew up in Cayton, a village outside Scarborough, Ann Louise says a move back to the area wasn't planned. 'Truthfully, there was no big reason. We were happy in London, and we were settled,' she says. Yet while visiting their parents in Scarborough, the couple came across the property for sale in The Yorkshire Post, and things moved swiftly after that.

They viewed the derelict 18th-century farm on a Sunday and found themselves in the middle of a bidding war by Monday. It was a quick decision,' says Nick of the spontaneous buy. Without a mortgage in London, the couple were able to borrow on their flat to buy the estate for cash, using savings to fund the initial renovation and using leftover funds to continue the restoration.