The weather in Wales is notoriously wild and windy, and Tracey and Paul Morris’s family home by the sea was feeling the strain. Decades of wind and rain rolling in from the North Atlantic Ocean had left the 1920s house suffering from damp and both wet and dry rot. After a section of its roof blew off during a gale, they decided to cut their losses, and replace it with something much more durable. “A fortress was what we wanted. Something really robust, with clean lines and open-plan space,” said Mrs. Morris.

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