Escape the hustle of city life at this quiet Victorian beach home on the Kent Coast, magically reinvented by Atelier Alicart.

A stone’s throw from the shingles of Kingsdown Beach, the Kent property was originally a schoolhouse and reading room for local fishermen, built by the local parish. It’s been masterfully restored by Atelier Alicart in a style that celebrates its transportive character, from its restored flint facade onwards.

Interiors reveal themselves as a series of arrivals, the first being the lofty living room, which sits beneath a pitched roof with skylit ceilings, rows of beams and skylights.

Original pine floorboards run underfoot while the wood-burning stove is a modern update, anchoring the light-filled space, which is daubed in soothing mint shades and bursting with plant life.

Windows overlook a sandy track down to the beach, and double doors open onto a private paved courtyard, bathed in the colourful glow of stained glass high in the gable. Victorian sensibility gets an update in the kitchen too, where wooden cabinets are topped by sleek concrete slabs.

Two bedrooms occupy the upper floor, beneath the slope of the cottage roof, with views over Kingsdown Beach. A third bedroom could be fashioned from the ground floor snug, which has a fireplace and built-in shelving and is currently used as a reading room.

The Modern House is listing the Cliffe Road  home for £930,000. See more in the gallery above.

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