This exemplary contemporary house is positioned on Broadstairs’ coveted North Foreland Estate, just a few minutes from some of the best beaches on the Kent Coast. Completed in 2020, the house was inspired by California modernism and is arranged around a wonderfully private courtyard garden. Reaching over 2,100 sq ft internally, the house is single-storey and its serene interior spaces are arranged with three thoughtfully designed bedrooms that look out onto beautifully-landscaped gardens.

Named after the rolling white cliffs that line the coastline, the house is composed using a minimal palette of white-glazed brick and oak cladding. Manicured gardens embed the house in its surroundings, with three separate courtyards. The outdoor spaces function symbiotically with those inside; there is a covered outside living room with a wood-burning stove, a bespoke steel kitchen and dining table set into concrete landscaping, and outside shower. The estate has access to a residents-only beach.

The house was designed with privacy in mind; it is set back from the main road and there is parking for two cars in the carport. The interior plan is wonderfully efficient. Entry is to a large hallway, flooded with light from the skylight above and fitted with bespoke coat cupboards.

The western wing of the house is occupied by an expansive open-plan living room, kitchen and dining room. There are huge sliding doors at two aspects, allowing light to pour in throughout the day. The kitchen sits at the rear of the room, with full-height cupboards in white and wood and an island which merges seamlessly into a built-in dining table and bench seating. The whole house has been thoughtfully designed with ease of use and a coastal lifestyle in mind, using a palette of oak and poured concrete throughout in order that the spaces feel coherent. There is also a large utility room.

The northern wing of the house has three large bedrooms, and a family bathroom. The principal bedroom has wonderful views over the garden which are framed by huge sliding single-pane windows, and is arranged with a freestanding bath and separate en-suite bathroom and dressing room. At the far end of the plan is a bespoke study, fitted with handmade green and plywood cabinetry that incorporates a large desk and mini-kitchen. There is a bathroom adjacent. This space has doors onto the garden, so that it can be accessed separately from the rest of the house, via a footpath that connects to North Foreland Avenue.

Chalk sits where the estate groundkeepers’ cottage and gardens once were and has views to the much-loved North Foreland lighthouse. The North Foreland Estate is privately owned and gated, with well-maintained gardens. This house is positioned for the best of the local beaches. It is an easy walk to the lovely sands at Joss Bay, which has a surf & paddleboard school, and a 25-minute walk into town and the harbour with its sailing school and the family-friendly beach at Viking Bay.

The rich cultural heritage of Broadstairs has been drawing people to the Kent coastline for many years. It was an important fishing port in the 1700s and continues to wear its smugglers’ past on its sleeve into the 21^st century; the coastline remains honeycombed with caves and tunnels around nearby Botany and Kingsgate Bays. Broadstairs is also renowned as the site of Bleak House, a prominent residence on the cliff overlooking Viking Bay. Charles Dickens used to holiday at the house and wrote the novel ‘David Copperfield’ in one of the rooms.

In recent years, Broadstairs has enjoyed a palpable resurgence, with a thriving community of independent shops and restaurants including Wyatt and Jones, which features in the Michelin guide as a specialist in locally sourced seafood, and The Funicular Coffee Shop built into the old ticket office of a long-decommissioned clifftop funicular. The old town itself remains a haven of antique shops, cafes and traditional Kentish pubs, and Morelli’s ice-cream parlour is a wonderfully over-the-top establishment on the sea.

Nearby Margate is experiencing an extraordinary period of change; an influx of young creatives have been setting up in the town, including natural cosmetic company Haeckels, Liddicoat and Goldhill the architects behind Maker’s House and the internationally renowned Turner Contemporary art gallery along with the recently-restored Dreamland. These businesses and many more like them have helped to evolve a thriving art, food and music scene minutes from Broadstairs. Much-loved Whitstable and Ramsgate (and its marina) are also within easy reach along with historic Canterbury, and easy access to the Eurostar at Folkestone.

Broadstairs has a mainline railway station providing services to London St Pancras in approximately one hour and twenty minutes, and there are good road links to London and the rest of Kent via the motorway network.

Photography by Chris Snook. 

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.