The little house of CALM

Sue and Jonathan Eley turned a timber cabin in a beautiful secluded New Forest setting into a luxurious country escape

- ALEXANDRA PRATT

It is surely impossible to travel through the New Forest and not be seduced by this ancient and tranquil landscape. ‘It’s just so beautiful; the countryside, the colours, the horses by the side of the road,’ says Sue, a management consultant, who with her husband Jonathan, an advertising copywriter, was looking for a country hideaway far from their busy lives.

Eventually, they came across a timber cabin that had started life as a garage. ‘We saw the river and the pond… it felt private and soothing. We thought, “Wow, this is so romantic,”’ says Jonathan. The cabin is also inside the International Dark Sky Reserve, where cloudless nights offer otherworldly views of the Milky Way. Yet the couple were brought back to earth by its condition.