Occasionally you come across a house that is obviously such a special property, one that has been lovingly restored over many years with its age, history and traditional core as the guide to creating the perfect place to call home.
Goetre is surely one of those homes, a former farmhouse and outbuildings that uses natural materials, traditional methods and a fundamental drive to create a home in-keeping with its past but also subtly added modern convenience.
The home belongs to couple Jamie and Jessica who, initially from this property, set up the popular clothes and homeware brand Toast. They might have sold their share of the company in 2018 but the synergy and core values between the house and the brand remains. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.
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Jamie said: “The nice thing about Toast was that it wasn’t really driven by a huge desire to succeed. It wasn’t formed with plans and mission statements, but with Jessica and myself and people who gathered around us, doing the things we liked and we were lucky enough that other people tuned into it and liked it too.”
Jessica adds: “Without sounding hypocritical, because obviously the clothes do cost money, the emphasis was always on very simple pleasures. A piece of toast is a very humble thing, and that’s what it’s always been about for us – taking time was more important than having stuff.”
Jamie: “The idea with the clothes was not to tell people how to dress, but to provide the means that they could dress as they wanted to. Clothes that people felt comfortable in, both physically and emotionally, that gave them confidence, but not in a brash or pushy way.”
Jessica: “We used that ethos and same rigorous attention to detail with this house as we did with the clothes.” Goetre has that principal running through its spaces – comfortable, natural, understated but making a statement.”
Jamie said: “We’ve been here for a long time: 36 years. Before this we had a cottage on the other side of the hill with no plumbing and we’d have to walk half a mile to get wood. We realised it wasn’t practical and found this place through a friend.
“This is an old house – the oldest part is probably a couple of hundred years old – and then it’s been added to and added to, taking the form of a long stretch of barns coming off the main house. Little by little, we renovated and worked from them.”
Jessica adds: “It’s been our home for so many years and it’s simply a lovely house to live in. It’s the down-to-earth warmheartedness that I’ll miss most.”
Goetre, in its entirety, comprises a series of interconnected former agricultural buildings – an original farmhouse, a milking parlour, a cowshed and a hayloft in all spanning 120 ft in length. Effortlessly wedded to a quiet and peaceful pocket of the Welsh landscape, the house is tucked into a hillside at the end of its own track.
The flawless execution of the renovation reflects a deep understanding of the building throughout, demonstrating a clear intent to celebrate and enhance, rather than diminish, its surroundings and rich historical character.
It might be a rural idyll with the river just a short walk away, but Carmarthen is 25 minutes away by car, Llandeilo is close too, while the region is renowned for its extensive walking and cycling paths and stunning and quiet beaches including Pendine Sands.
Goetre, on the market for the first time in 36 years, is for sale for £880,000 with The Modern House/Inigo, call 020 3687 3071 to find out more.
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