Sandhills

Sandhills sits above Salcombe's north shore, a hillside house built almost entirely around the water below it — floor-to-ceiling glass on the living side, a wide stone terrace stepping out from the kitchen.

The approach is through birch and pine to a terrace laid for dinner, the bay spread out beneath a glass balustrade and a rattan sofa angled to catch it.

Living under glass

Inside, the whole ground floor opens onto that view: a blue-island kitchen with a breakfast bar, a dining table set beneath skylights with the estuary through open doors, and a sitting room where a corner sofa and a table-football table share the same wall of glass. A smaller den, with its own log burner, gives a second place to sit when the main room fills up.

Beds with a view of the bay

Four bedrooms sleep up to eleven between them, most furnished in reclaimed wood and wicker, one tucked under the eaves with its own armchair and at least one positioned so the sea is the first thing you see on waking. The four bathrooms include a pair of freestanding baths set beside full-height glass.

The terrace and the hillside steps

The outdoor space is built for eating outside: a long table shaded by trees, a second dining spot set against a stone wall, and rattan sofas angled toward the headland and the bay. A glass-balustraded staircase climbs the hillside between the terraces.

Down to North Sands

Salcombe North Sands is a short walk from the house, the wooded cove and rocky headland the house looks over stretching out below it. The town of Salcombe itself, with its harbour and shops, is close by too.

A house built for a full family week

The scale suits a large family or two or three couples sharing — four separate bedrooms, two sitting areas, and a kitchen built to cook for eleven at once. The table-football den works as well for teenagers as it does for a quiet adult evening on the terrace.