Tiger Villa was saved from the brink of collapse after the roof collapsed, leaving months of rain to destroy floors, stairs and ceilings. The building was bought in 2008 by Simon James and Alex Tarry, and the pair spent nearly year painstakingly restoring the property with the help of expert local builder Gary Buckingham.
After making the property structurally sound, it was sympathetically restored to create two period one-bedroom holiday cottages, available to rent through Best of Suffolk. The renovation project was an exciting journey of discovery, with fire places saved, brick floors uncovered, original joinery preserved and rotten window frames carefully measured and replaced with exacting copies. Inside and out the walls of the house were lime-washed with natural pigment colours, and linseed oil paints used on the exterior woodwork.
Follow these links to see the amazing BEFORE and AFTER PHOTOS.
Alex Tarry says: "Restoring Tiger Villa was a labour of love, we were determined to save as much of the cottage as possible, repairing rather than replacing and using traditional building methods so that the special character of this unique building wasn't spoilt. The response from local people in Aldeburgh has been tremendous, people have been delighted to see a former eyesore restored to it's former glory on Aldeburgh High Street."
Suffolk Coastal District Council launched the Quality of Place Awards this year to recognise and celebrate the highest standards of design that are helping to contribute to the district's environment. Tiger Villa won the Building Conservation 'small scheme' award for 'repair or restoration works to buildings of local historic interest undertaken with particular care for the quality of their conservation'. More details about the award can be found on the Suffolk Coastal website: http://www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk/yourdistrict/planning/qualityofplace.
