WITH its Peshawar marble reception desk, 400-year-old oak doors and hand-painted bespoke wallpaper from London, one might have expected the recent renovations at Marbella’s Beach House restaurant to have cost as much as a private Caribbean atoll.

On the contrary, its resourceful British owners Guy and Lucy McCrow did it all themselves, sourcing the materials and using just local tradesmen and their very own team to create the new look.

The end result is spectacular… and what would have cost over two million euros ended up costing well under half that, and included five stunning suites upstairs as well as a pool for guests.

“We created the wine cellar, did the floors and walls and even ended up building our own chairs and tables,” explains Guy, 35, from Hertfordshire.

This is perhaps not surprising after they were repeatedly given quotes for around €1,000 per chair and €1,200 for a table.

“That might be fine for a Zagaleta dining room, but we needed lots of them and they needed to be robust and stylish,” continues the friendly father-of-three, who has lived in Spain for over a decade.

They ended up using a local carpenter – Will, a Belgian who is more commonly found designing furniture for the five-star Puente Romano hotel, and local upholsterer Paco who also works with many top hotels.

The final price: just €300 a chair and not much more for the tables.

It was a similar story with the beautiful oak doors, which lead into the charming B&B next door, called the Residence.

They had been quoted €4,500 per door, but after shopping around, found a pair in a reclamation yard in the Montes de Malaga for just €300 each.

“They are made out of wood from the reign of Felipe II destined for the Spanish armada,” explains Guy. “And he smartened them up and even came and fitted them using the same old wood as a frame for €40 more.”

A quote for the Peshawar marble from Kashmir, which they had been expecting to cost around €20,000 came in at just €6,000 thanks to using local stone mason from the Marbella industrial estate.

“Of course it took a lot longer to undertake the whole project, in total around three years, but it was great to work with the excellent local tradesmen and specialists,” continues Guy.

“And all in all we have ended up delivering our clients excellent value for money, enabling us to offer an exclusive experience while keeping the price down,” he concludes.

Visit www.beachhousemarbella.com

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