Keith Brymer Jones And Marj Hogarth’s Clever Courtyard Privacy Idea On Our Welsh Chapel Dream
Keith Brymer Jones And Marj Hogarth’s Clever Courtyard Privacy Idea On Our Welsh Chapel Dream
Publish Date: 2026-05-17 09:37:00
Source Domain: www.housebeautiful.com
Our Welsh Chapel Dream’s Keith Brymer Jones and Marj Hogarth’s guest ensuite and courtyard transformation was one of our favourite renovations from the third series – not least because of the clever way they created privacy outdoors.
Downstairs in the old Sunday school, two damp storerooms hidden beneath the school hall have been transformed into a self-contained guest suite, complete with its own entrance leading out to a newly designed courtyard.
Channel 4
While the brutalist concrete seating area and fire pit – or ‘fire trench’, as The Great Pottery Throw Down judge Keith calls it – give the small courtyard garden structure, it’s Marg’s handmade sail canopies that help turn the space into a private alfresco room. Made using rich maroon canvas fabric as a nod to the area’s maritime history, the canopies soften the hard landscaping, create a sense of enclosure, and make the outdoor seating area feel more intimate and sheltered.
Channel 4 / screengrab
Channel 4 / screengrab
Keith and Marg had no idea the rooms even existed when they bought Capel Salem, located in Pwllheli on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, back in September 2022. The space had been sealed up – Marg said they only discovered it because the gas meter needed to be removed.
Read more: Our Welsh Chapel Dream – what happened in season 1 and 2?
‘I think what will be really nice is to have guests here but they can be completely self-contained. They’ll even have their own front door to go in and out,’ said Keith ahead of the renovation. ‘This will be another seating area, with a raised platform, a concrete fire pit and a nice canopy. There’ll be easy access to the car park and the rest of the garden.’
Channel 4 / screengrab
Builder Huw carried out much of the structural work, including crafting the concrete seating, which is softened by special finishing touches such as handmade porcelain tealights, plant pots and tactile soft furnishings.
‘I just thought it would be…
