Coasting along

Its name is "The Haven", and that's exactly what this cottage represents for Satch Kiely and her husband Jim. It is a five-hour drive from their home in Westport, Co Mayo to the cottage in Ballycotton, Co Cork, but, as Satch says, "the holiday feeling starts as soon as we get in the car".

One of a terrace of five houses built in the 1840s as homes for coastguards, right on the edge of the tiny fishing village, the cottage overlooks Ballycotton's picturesque harbour. The Haven is at one end of the terrace, so is marginally bigger than the others. "We bought it only three years ago," says Satch, "but the little village of Ballycotton has great emotional roots for us." Her husband Jim was born and brought up there, and his grandfather used to live in one of these coastguard cottages.

Satch Kiely, a dealer in fine antiques, runs her own shop, Satch Kiely Antiques, in Westport. A couple of years ago, when the couple bought The Haven, it needed major renovation - a proper bathroom, rewiring, work on the roof. "We had to gut a lot of it," says Satch, "though of course we preserved everything we could." They managed to keep the original dresser in the living-room; all the cottages, when they were built, had been fitted with one of these, along with some other pieces of furniture, such as a bed and a chest of drawers. "We wanted the cottage to feel timeless and calm, while of course making the space fulfil our modern-day needs too," says Satch.

With the advice and expertise of local builder Maurice Whelan, they reorganised the interior to provide two bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as a spacious living area and an efficient well-planned kitchen. The building work was carried out by Maurice's team, using materials matching the rest of the terrace as closely as possible.

Then came the decoration. "We felt it was important to retain the sense of traditional simplicity, in keeping with the character of the cottage, " explains Satch. "I wanted to create a soft and informal style, in direct contrast to our rather formal period home in Westport. So we left the floorboards bare, staining them a warm honey colour, and painted the walls white." To create a sense of continuity and timelessness, Satch searched out things the same age as the house, like the pine fire surround and brass bedsteads, as well as antique pine to make the kitchen units.

She didn't want to slavishly create a Victorian interior, however, so she added touches of contemporary but classic style with modern wrought-iron furniture, along with accessories from different periods.

Now The Haven is used by all the family whenever they can. "At least one of us is here every weekend; we all love the peace and tranquillity of the area," says Jim.

Satch Kiely Antiques is at The Quay, Westport, Co Mayo. Tel 098 25775.