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Rachel Hill and her husband have owned this small apartment for four years: It has always been our dream to spend time under the Spanish sun, and four years ago we realised that dream when we purchased our home in a small “pueblo blanco” in the Cadiz region of Andalusia. This area is on the Atlantic coast and is fun, beautiful, wild, and very windy!
Our main home is in Scotland, but we come out to Spain as often as we can. We love the coastline, countryside, and culture of both places, but have to express a preference for the Spanish weather!
We bought the property because it is small and relatively easy to maintain. We wanted a home that is full of Andalusian charm, but also a home to which we can add our own stamp. We also wanted a place in which we can socialise and also access all of the amazing bars and restaurants in the village.
The house is part of a traditional patio house and is hundreds of years old. We wanted to retain the original style and features and have used a simple color palette of white walls and black woodwork punctuated with color from soft furnishings, art, and plants. We have kept the original terracotta tiles, covering them with traditional black and white woolen rugs made in the area.
After we moved in, we made some changes. Because we wanted one large, sociable living area, walls have been knocked down and rooms have been reconfigured. The roof terrace is the same footprint as the apartment and is a wonderful place to socialize and also relax in the sun. It has been exciting to learn about the plants that we can grow on the terrace and we are amassing quite a collection of cacti and succulents
Describe your home’s style in five words or fewer: Sun-filled, monochrome-meets-color, eclectic, rustic, cozy.
What is your favorite room and why? The roof terrace is amazing for morning coffee, meals, and evening drinks. Watching the swifts and swallows whizz about in the sky is truly beautiful.
I’m not sure if the terrace counts as a “room” (although Rob often sleeps out there, but there’s too much wildlife in the form of lizards, bats, and mosquitoes for me!).
Inside the house our favorite is the main living room, which has had walls knocked down to make an open-plan kitchen/dining/living room. There are quirky and original features, which I love, such as the window seat built into the wall, the metal beams, and the arched lights carved into the stone.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? When we are here we go a bit feral making furniture out of things we have found on the street, such as the bookshelves made out of an old drawer and my dressing table made with an old door. My husband also likes to paint and painted the picture of the two birds on the wall in the guest bedroom, inspired by the swooping swifts we watch in the evening
Any advice for creating a home you love? Hold off making big purchases until you have spent a bit of time in your home and get a feel for how you are going to live there and what you really need.
We all have to buy from the high street, but it’s important to mix things up. I use vintage and homemade to give character.
A simple color palette makes a great backdrop for interesting art and unique pieces.
If you fancy a change, moving things around and/or painting what you have is a low-cost way of achieving a brand-new look.
And the main advice is just go for it! What’s the worst that can happen?
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