Our Little Piece of Kernofornia ☀️

Sometimes a house just stays with you.

Not because it's perfect. Quite often, it's the complete opposite.

Peeling wallpaper, outdated fittings and rooms that haven't really changed in decades. The sort of place that comes with a long list of jobs and enough dust to make you question your life choices.

But every now and then, you walk into a house and can see something beyond all of that.

 

That's exactly what happened when we first stepped inside our Newquay bungalow.

Built in 1964 and largely untouched since, apart from a kitchen update sometime in the early 1990s, it felt like stepping into another era. An open-plan Mid-Century home with sloping ceilings, huge amounts of natural light and a wonderfully relaxed layout that somehow still felt modern despite its age.

What made it even more special was discovering the history behind it.

The bungalow was once home to William Hoskin, the former Mayor of Newquay. My mum had cared for him during his later years, so she already knew the house long before we ever viewed it. When we walked through the door for the first time, there was an immediate sense of familiarity and connection.

We fell in love with it almost instantly. Or perhaps more accurately, we fell in love with what it could become.

A little piece of Kernofornia.

A Cornish take on that effortless Californian feeling; light-filled spaces, natural materials, indoor-outdoor living and a home that feels relaxed, functional and lived in rather than carefully styled.

Of course, before any of that could happen, there was quite a bit of work to do.

One of our first renovation projects was the bathroom, and the wallpaper alone deserves a mention.

 

It featured tiny sailboats, lighthouses, buckets and spades repeating endlessly in every direction. We quickly nicknamed it "An Endless Day at the Seaside" because it genuinely felt like the pattern might continue forever.

As we stripped everything back, we uncovered damp walls, a forgotten packet of vintage cigarettes and, perhaps most charmingly of all, some beautifully hand-painted seagulls hidden beneath the layers.

Those are the moments that make renovating older homes so rewarding. Beneath the wallpaper, the clutter and the years of wear and tear was something much more important: potential.

We never wanted the renovation to feel overly polished or trend-led. There are plenty of beautiful homes that follow the latest fashions, but that was never our goal. Instead, we wanted to create spaces that felt calm, grounded and welcoming, with natural textures, warm tones and thoughtful details that make a room feel good to spend time in.

The transformation has been less about perfection and more about atmosphere. What was once dark, tired and slightly chaotic now feels peaceful and settled. It's funny how often the rooms that seem the least promising at the beginning become the spaces you appreciate most once they're finished.

That same approach has guided the entire renovation.

 

Throughout the house we've tried, wherever possible, to preserve the character of the building rather than erase it. Older homes have stories to tell, and while it can be tempting to strip everything back and start again, we've found ourselves looking for reasons to keep things instead.

One of our favourite decisions was keeping the original bedroom sinks.

It might sound slightly unconventional, but they've become one of the features that gives the house its personality. My partner sourced vintage G-Plan Fresco furniture and transformed the units into bespoke vanity cabinets, combining the warmth and craftsmanship of Mid-Century furniture with modern plumbing and functionality.

They're practical, beautiful and completely unique, which is exactly the sort of detail we love.

The same thinking shaped our approach to the lounge. Originally, the room was almost entirely clad in teak. The craftsmanship was incredible, but it also made the space feel much darker than we wanted.

Rather than removing it altogether, we carefully repurposed sections of the original timber elsewhere throughout the house. This allowed us to retain some of that rich Mid-Century warmth and texture without overwhelming the rooms.

We've also restored the original fitted wardrobes, sanding them back, treating the timber and returning them to their rightful places. Handmade, beautifully constructed and built to last, they represent a level of craftsmanship that's becoming increasingly rare.

After a little care and attention, they once again feel like part of the home's future rather than relics from its past.

Perhaps that's the theme running through this entire project.

Not replacement, but preservation.

Working with what already exists and finding beauty in materials that still have life left in them.

It's a philosophy that naturally feels at home with Lovan too. Whether it's restoring original woodwork or weaving baskets from reclaimed fishing rope, there's something incredibly satisfying about creating new stories from existing materials.

Not everything needs replacing. Sometimes it simply needs reimagining.

That idea has probably influenced my work more than I realised.

Many of the pieces I make begin with materials that have already lived a life of their own. Fishing rope that's spent years battling Atlantic storms. Timber that's weathered and aged. Objects that carry their own history and character.

The bungalow feels much the same.

Rather than trying to turn it into something entirely different, we're simply helping it become the best version of what it already was.

The renovation is still very much ongoing and we have thousands of photographs documenting the journey so far. There have been unexpected discoveries, difficult decisions, moments of excitement and plenty of dust along the way.

There is still a long way to go.

The hope is that this house will eventually become more than just our home. A future space for Lovan photoshoots, a new studio and somewhere to create, make and share ideas inspired by the coastline and landscapes we love.

But perhaps most importantly, it will remain what it has always been.

A home with history.

A home with character.

And a home we're incredibly grateful to be looking after for the next chapter of its story.

Zoe 🩶 x