Four miles along the coast from Rye at Jury’s Gap sits a cluster of nine coastguard cottages. Built in two short, perpendicular terraces, the white brick facades and lichen-covered roofs are a familiar sight on Britain’s coastline. “The design of these cottages was very considered,” explains Marta Nowicka, who owns an end terrace. “These are one of the original live-work spaces, so it’s a very practical space.”
Nowicka’s cottage faces out to sea, but she is quick to add that the setting is far from idyllic. The cottages are on the edge of an MoD firing range – what Nowicka calls a “no-go area”. This creates a “tension” that appealed to her. She’s a London-based interior architect who purchased her cottage in 2010.
