From commode to abode.
A creative couple turned a putrid public bathroom into their private beachfront sanctuary — and now they’re sniffing around for a new owner.
After a stinker of a renovation described by the adventurous pair as “a decade of stress,” they’ve listed the tarted-up toilets for $372,000.
Elaine and Alan Taylor snapped up the ramshackle restroom in Barmouth, Wales in 2015 via a blind bidding process, WalesOnline reported.
For their future retreat, they paid just $38,000 — not knowing they’d have to flush an estimated $328,000 down the drain to realize their dream of oceanfront living.
The outcome, however, is a sight to behold.
The Taylors were vacationing in Barmouth when they first saw the “for sale” sign on the disused piece of public property, they said.
“We thought that it would be amazing because of its proximity to the sand dunes and the sea, and what an opportunity to renovate something and improve the area, take something that’s unloved, unused and make it into something really nice,” Elaine Taylor told WalesOnline.
The building had been shuttered for many years before the Taylors came to town. They discovered that the interiors were, understandably, quite smelly and sandy.
Their labor of love for the lost loos began in earnest in 2016, after the couple got planning approval.
Due to their proximity to a school, however, construction was paused until the following summer. From there, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
First they had to raise the floor level by more than three feet for flood mitigation, which forced an overhaul of the original renovation plans.
Then, more red tape required the couple to preserve the building’s original foundations, forcing them to demolish the original structure brick-by-brick.
Other unexpected challenges clogged the Taylor’s progress over the years — they discovered that the electricity was hooked up to street lamps and all of the plumbing had to be replaced.
The COVID-19 lockdowns then threw an additional wrench into things.
Eventually, however, the bothersome former bog was replaced with a well-appointed one-bedroom, one-bathroom home with views of the sea, sand and sky.
The unique coastal lair features granite countertops, underfloor hearing and a skylight for stargazing.
Alan and Elaine joked that the original pitch for the home’s name was “Ur in Al’s.”
Ultimately, the couple opted for something a little more dreamy — “Hafan Y Traeth,” or beach haven.
Now, due to changing life circumstances, the Taylors have made the “tough decision” to sell the one-of-a-kind property.
But they are eager to see it occupied and loved by new owners, they said.
