The normal detached house with a Caribbean beach in the garden
It's not what you expect just outside Llanelli and there's an indoor swimming pool hiding around the back too
Grab your swimming cozzie because we're off to a Caribbean beach. But you won't have to spend hours trying to find your passport and then stressing out because it's now out-of-date, because this slice of a tropical island is found in a quiet residential street just outside Llanelli.
At the end of the cul-de-sac, the detached, four-bed, three-bathroom, family home looks pretty normal with no hint that around to the rear of this attractive home is a Caribbean beach garden as well as an indoor heated swimming pool. To get all the latest dream homes and property news straight to your inbox twice a week sign up here.
It's a house transformed to host the best garden parties in the area, if not the county, tempting you to sink your bare feet into the sand with the palm trees swaying in the sea breezes from the River Loughor estuary and north Gower coast.
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Step out from the living room, kitchen diner, utility room or the surprise extension hiding behind the garage that is home to a sizeable, six metre, heated swimming pool, and your toes sink into soft sand as you meander through the different 'zones' of this home's 'beach', from the large hot tub to the lounger area, from the outdoor sofas around a firepit to the outdoor kitchen and BBQ area, from the outdoor dining table to the sofas inside a plastic pod - well, we are in Wales but why should the socialising stop when the rain starts?
Most people like to create a home that is personal to them, that reflects their style and serves the needs of their lifestyle and Marcelle and Claire Llewelyn have certainly done that by giving their Carmarthenshire abode a Caribbean flavour as the 'forever on holiday' vibe for socialising and partying.
Marcelle says: "It’s a really peaceful area, so in summer you really could be on a beach anywhere! We have family booking up visits months in advance as they love it so much. Nobody wears shoes here in the summer, it’s all about feeling the sand under your toes."
And, of course, any good holiday by the beach offers a bedroom with a balcony and that's been cleverly created above the swimming pool extension, so the country and coast views can join the vista of the 'beach' below as you sip your cocktail in the sunshine in this elevated location.
The house that the couple have made their stylish home includes a shower room accessed from the poolside to banish any chlorine water and sand, but the garden will soon be enticing you out to visit the beach without ever leaving the premises. For more remarkable and inspiring property stories check out the new edition of the Amazing Welsh Homes magazine - packed with renovation stories, interior design ideas, competitions and discounts, dream homes plus a peep inside some celebrities' homes too - pre-order it here.
Homeowner Marcelle says: "When we purchased the house, the garden was beautifully green with shrubs, trees, flowers…and not enough space in-between to place a pair of sun loungers! As an arachnophobic sun worshipper, I decided that firstly, I couldn’t do the ‘spider web dance’ every time I wanted to step outside, and secondly, I’d need to create some serious social space to enjoy the south facing back garden."
(Image: The Greenroom, Mumbles)1 of 11
Marcelle says: "With a six metre indoor swimming pool opening onto the private expanse of space, we eventually came up with the idea of a Caribbean beach."
(Image: The Greenroom, Mumbles)2 of 11
The couple thought through every aspect of relaxing as well as socialising that they wanted the garden to give them, so zoned it into functions from cooking in the outdoor kitchen to eating at the outdoor dining table, relaxing on loungers in peace to sitting in the sofa area with friends and family or heading for the sofa space in the indoor pod when the rain starts.
(Image: The Greenroom, Mumbles)3 of 11![Every house with a 'permanently on holiday' vibe should have a bedroom balcony above the beach, and the couple have cleverly hosted this holiday 'must-have on the roof of the swimming pool extension.]()
Every house with a 'permanently on holiday' vibe should have a bedroom balcony above the beach, and the couple have cleverly hosted this holiday 'must-have on the roof of the swimming pool extension.
(Image: The Greenroom, Mumbles)4 of 11![Enough space to enjoy the summer sun and the starry nights while sipping a holiday cocktail on this by the beach balcony.]()
Enough space to enjoy the summer sun and the starry nights while sipping a holiday cocktail on this by the beach balcony.
(Image: The Greenroom, Mumbles)5 of 11
