Words Billie Brand
Photography Ellen Christina Hancock

“We made the call to move here after a slightly boozy lunch at Dory’s,” says Charlene Prempeh with a smile. She and her husband, James Goodhead, got a taste for Margate and its exciting culinary scene at the town’s beloved seafood bar during a day trip last summer. After some oysters and a few glasses of champagne, sipped while overlooking the sea, the couple came to the spontaneous decision to uproot life in a mid-century apartment in Borough, south-east London and, along with their son, Lucky, migrate to the Kent coast.

It wasn’t only Margate’s roster of restaurants that caught the couple’s eye, but its creative and independent spirit too. After speaking to locals, Charlene, the founder of creative agency A Vibe Called Tech, and James, who runs concept store Unified Goods, were inspired by the town’s entrepreneurial atmosphere. “People who’ve always wanted to be artists have moved down here to pursue that full time,” says Charlene. “That’s a good energy to be around.” The deal was sealed, however, when they viewed a Georgian townhouse with a charming history and beautiful views of the sea, which they have since put their stamp on. Over coffee from one of their favourite nearby spots, Fort’s, the pair tell us how their new neighbourhood came to inspire their interiors, about swapping the fare of Borough Market for Margate – and why they’ve never looked back.

Charlene: “We’d lived in Borough for 10 years – one of the reasons I loved it was because of the food – but we wanted to explore a different part of the UK. We’d been to Margate before, but the restaurant scene hadn’t arrived yet and we didn’t think too much of it. Then we came back a second time during lockdown and lots of places had opened. We thought it was beautiful.”

James: “After spending lockdown in London, moving here felt like we were bursting free from the city. The place we were living in Borough was amazing though – it was mid-century, open plan. But when we had Lucky and there were suddenly three of us in one space, it didn’t work as well. The idea of having a period home with rooms and doors that you can shut really appealed to us.”

Charlene: “As soon as I saw this place I started squealing like a hyena. I hadn’t even walked through the front door – I was standing on the other side of the road! But I could see the joinery of the bespoke seating. I also enjoyed how the house is a different size and shape to its neighbours. And when you go inside, it just keeps going and going.”

James: “The front half of the house was built in the 1830s and the back in the 1890s. There are lots of different levels to it, which makes it feel a bit like a labyrinth. We were looking for something that was characterful and this house had a history; it used to belong to a lifeguard and then a fishmonger. The owner, who got in trouble for selling his catch on the beach, bought the house, extended it and sold from here. We got the cod knocker on the front door as a tribute to the house’s heritage.

“When Charlene and I first ventured to the bedroom on the top floor, we were just amazed by the sea view. The house is right on a crest of a hill and no other house on this stretch has the same outlook. When we saw that, we decided to put an offer in. Being near the ocean, especially after spending a lot of time inside during the pandemic, was a big draw.”

Charlene: “There’s a real strong entrepreneurial and creative spirit here too – and there’s something wonderful about being around people who are trying to realise a dream. The guys who run the florist Mahal Kita Flowers, which is just up the road, moved here from London to set up their company. Now their flowers have been in Killing Eve.”

James: “The guys who were living here before us had done a brilliant job of transforming what was a rundown house in desperate need of love. They’d done all the background details, like the floors to fireplaces. Our stamps on the house are the bathroom, the basement and the kitchen – it features joinery by Sebastian Cox and tiling by David Boys-Layton, who are both local to Margate. And we did a lot of decorating. One of the main things we enjoyed doing was hanging our art and furnishing the place. Charlene’s got an obsession with tiles and chairs.”

Charlene: “Chairs have a lot of opportunities to be beautiful but they’re also super functional. The dining room chairs and the sofa are both from Old Old Woods. Terje Ekstrøm’s ‘Ekstrem’ chair by the stairs on the ground floor is one of my favourites because it’s so comfortable. We are also just about to commission a local carpenter to make a Donald Judd-esque daybed to go in the basement.”

James: “All the art we have in the house is by friends or people we’ve worked with. I’d been a fan of David Shrigley for years and my company collaborated with him on a charity project. He gave me the whale print by the dining table in exchange for a charity donation. I’d seen and wanted this print for the house as I love that it nods to being by the sea without feeling too coastal. Now it’s one of the first things you see when you walk into the house.”

Charlene: “The Jeremy Deller Thank God for Immigrants print was a gift from a very close friend Lewis Gilbert, who is a curator and works as creative director at Vibe. My mum was an immigrant and so were Lewis’s parents, so it’s nice to make a statement about that on the wall. There’s also a big immigrant community in Margate, so it feels quite fitting. The piece in the living room is by Remi Ajani, another close friend and old housemate. Her work is beautiful. We’d been friends for 15 years and I never knew she painted. There’s something amazing about being surrounded by work you love, by the people you love.”

James: “There’s a lot of green in the house, which is a homage to Margate and all the thick, dark green moss that grows along the walls on the beach, as well as the seaweed on the sand. Even the sea has a green tint to it. The basement, in particular, nods to all that. As soon as you open the door and step down there it has this feeling of being underwater, thanks to the green walls. We’ve turned it into a very ambient, grown-up room where Charlene spends a lot of time writing. There is complete escapism when you close the door behind you.”

Charlene: “It’s one of my favourite spaces in the house – though it’s a toss-up with the living room, which is beautiful and calm. It’s a nice place to read and relax. The sunset from there is insane.”

James: “The sun sets over the sea and throws a warm, ambient glow into the room. Margate is famous for its light and the way the house absorbs and reacts to it never fails to move us. When you’re sitting in that room bathed in orange, it’s beautiful.

“I don’t think I will ever want to sell this house. One of the main reasons I actively pursued it was so that we could be by the sea. I swim in it a lot. The fact that I can walk for five minutes, take a dip and then come back and have a nice hot shower is amazing. Plus, it feels like a very exciting time to live here because there’s always cool stuff happening.”

Charlene: “The Turner Contemporary just got a new director, Clarrie Wallis, who has a really interesting and international perspective. James has also been doing some incredible sound baths there as well. I didn’t imagine him getting involved in that.”

James: “It’s been really fun. We have the sea as the backdrop and do a DJ-led meditation before entering a sound bath with crystals and gongs while the sun sets. It’s a very sensory adventure. I’m also going to start a running club. You can get things like that moving here.”

Charlene: “We’re in it for the long haul. I don’t want to leave because I’m interested in how Margate is evolving. Fort Road Hotel, which recently opened, is my favourite place. Most things in Margate are open two days a week or they close at 4pm, but because I’m London born and bred, part of me wants something that’s consistently open. I have always loved hotels for that reason. Also the design is beautiful. The toilets are the best in Margate! They source everything locally too. I love it.”

Like what you see? For more on Charlene and James’s home, be sure to check out their House Style.