The ReadingRooms

Louise Oldfield and Liam Nabb spent two years restoring 31 Hawley Square, a Grade II listed townhouse built in the 1770s as accommodation for London gentry visiting the seaside, before opening it as a bed and breakfast in 2009. The house has two guest rooms, each taking up an entire floor and looking out over the trees of the Georgian square below. Original features such as high ceilings and period fireplaces sit alongside contemporary furnishings chosen by the owners themselves rather than an interior design firm. Liam continues to work as an architectural designer alongside running the house, while Louise has researched the building's naval and coastal history as part of an MA. Breakfast is served in a room lined with books, giving the building its name.