Presenter Carol Smillie gets away from it all at Ayrshire holiday home

WAVES are lapping against the shore, seagulls can be heard overhead, and a gentle breeze wafts against the skin. Sitting on a deck with the islands of Arran and Ailsa Craig in front of her, TV presenter Carol Smillie admits this is an idyllic location.

The Boathouse sits on the shore by the Ayrshire village of Maidens, just a stone’s throw from Turnberry – the renowned luxury hotel and golfing resort. Originally built as a local lifeboat station by the Marquis of Ailsa in the 1870s, it was bought by Carol and her restaurateur husband, Alex Knight, 13 years ago as a weekend and holiday retreat for themselves and their children, Christie, 17, Robbie, 14, and Jodie, 12.

The previous owners had already converted and extended the building, but the couple set about making it their own by transforming an adjoining building into a fourth bedroom, a second bathroom, a utility room and large storage room. They also upgraded the plumbing by installing an industrial Saniflo. Today, the house oozes charm, with a few nautical tributes thrown in for effect – but most of all, it’s a characterful family home.

Original stonework has been retained in the lounge, a slate floor lies under the Aga in the open-plan dining kitchen, and exposed beams in the bedrooms further add to the enchanting appeal of the house. There are firm nods to the building’s coastal location too, with oars hanging on the lounge walls, boat-shaped shelves and shell-framed mirrors in the bathrooms.

However, not all was plain sailing when Carol and Alex started work on creating their perfect seaside retreat. “When we bought the Boathouse it had been partially renovated and was in very good condition,” says Carol, who is launching a new business venture with former tennis player Annabel Croft in October. “Attached to the house was a shed with a corrugated roof – inside it still had the old lifeboat tow ropes that were used to pull boats out of the sea. It was a massive space that we thought was ideal for another bathroom and bedroom for guests.

“As the tow ropes had been concreted into the ground, we literally had to blow them up – the only way to get them out of the ground was by a controlled explosion. It amused me at the time.” she laughs.

She adds, “We got Decorum in Glasgow down to do the work for us and we just came back and forward. When we bought the house the previous owners used the front room as a play room for their two-year-old, so it had a plastic house and two bunks in it. The room has these lovely exposed stone walls and doors leading on to the deck, so we turned it into our main lounge – we put in the wood burner and leather sofas and it just came to life.”

Artwork is a talking point in most rooms – from the seascape of Maidens harbour hanging by the stairs, which was given to Carol for her 40th birthday, to a life-size sculpture of an old seadog with squawking parrot on his shoulder in the kitchen, down to the picture frames and even toilet roll holders made from driftwood. “The sea features in quite a lot of the pictures. I do love my art,” she says.

Having spent so many years presenting Changing Rooms on TV, Carol was inspired to do a bit of DIY along the way too. “I made some curtains and I re-upholstered the sofa in the TV room – the previous people were emigrating to New Zealand and left some furniture behind, so I just re-upholstered the sofa,” she smiles.

“The kids and I made the shell mirror in the bathroom – I was filming Changing Rooms at the time and got Handy Andy to knock up a frame for me. The kids and I then collected shells from the beach here and from holiday in Portugal and made the frame together.”

The previous owner’s father was a blacksmith and made all the wrought-iron curtain poles and finials, the staircase, the children’s beds and the four-poster bed in the master bedroom. Formerly the old lifeboat sail store room, the master bedroom is literally a dream come true for Carol, with its whitewashed walls and iron bed in the middle of the floor. “I have always wanted a bleached white wood bedroom by the sea,” she says.

“I just love our bedroom. When we bought the house, this room still had its original stonework but we put tongue and groove on the walls. The floors were really uneven so we changed them and put down this linoleum that looks like bleached white wood. We also got another blacksmith to extend the bed for us, making it queen-size. The room is so bright – the light is fantastic. We brought one of the reindeer skins on the floor back from Lapland.”

Carol commissioned craftsman Paul Hodgkiss to make the furniture in one of the other bedrooms, raising the bed on a platform so that you get a clear view of the sea over the decking every morning. “Paul used wood from an old church to make the wardrobe and dressing table,” recalls Carol.

“The room needed something quirky as we couldn’t put modern furniture in here. We painted blue horizontal stripes on the walls to make it resemble the sea.”

Being so close to the ocean, have they ever had any problems tides that are a little too high? “Never,” says Carol. “When the tide is right in we can get spray but we’ve never had an issue with flooding.”

Having spent every New Year here, plus many family celebrations over the past 13 years, Carol and Alex are now selling the Boathouse. “It was the perfect family place for us – we loved the fact we were an hour, door-to-door, from Glasgow,” Carol says. “We would come here every month and do rock-pooling with the kids, build sandcastles and bonfires, all the things we did when we were young. We have had all the birthday parties here, New Year with friends, bonfire night, fireworks on the beach. But now the kids have parties to go to or are doing things with friends so we’re not using the house as much as we used to. We think it is time to leave here and let someone else enjoy it.”

She adds, “We have loved the house and have enjoyed family life here. I am truly gutted to be leaving my bedroom behind.” k

The Boathouse, by Maidens, Ayrshire, is for sale  at offers over £395,000, through CKD Galbraith  (01292 268181, www.ckdgalbraith.co.uk)