It started as an epic dream home build on the clifftop in Devon with sweeping sea views and the subject of one of Channel 4's Grand Designs episodes but it ended up being described as the 'saddest episode ever' by viewers when it aired in 2019.
Almost 10 years after embarking on the property renovation journey, owner Edward Short was £4m in debt, his personal life had been affected, and the lighthouse-style new build was nowhere near complete, standing on the clifftop at Down End, near Croyde, as just an empty concrete shell.
Plans to create a landmark home at this coastline location to replace the existing property on the site were approved in 2010, and the ambitious project was underway but what unfolded was a story so stressful it ended in disaster for Edward.
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At the time, the scale and design of the home even impressed Grand Design's presenter Kevin McCloud, which can be a challenge in itself to do, with him commenting that the house called Chesil Cliff House was going to be "something very special".
But over the years the project has been hit with a range of issues and challenges, including spiralling costs, the banking crisis, Brexit, supply problems, bad weather and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The stress grew to unbearable levels as the money ran out and the debt increased, leading to viewers of the episode to take to twitter to either express their empathy for him or to brand the unfinished house an 'eyesore', the size of the project 'greedy', and the episode 'brutal', 'stressful' and the 'saddest episode ever'.
Edward spoke exclusively to Devon Live in December 2019, saying: "We've had an amazing time living in that spot (at the old house). There were days when the girls would come back from school, get straight off the bus and we'd all jump straight into the sea to mess around in the waves or go kayaking.
"But the whole project has been a horrendous strain for (his wife) Hazel, I have sunk our family purse into this and I really feel for her. I never meant to put her through any of this."
The rollercoaster ride through what Edward calls "the monster years" working on this controversial project eventually caused his marriage to break down, coupled with the costs and rising debt that left the massive clifftop mansion half-completed, causing some issues with local residents during the decade-long struggle to try and get the house finished.
Speaking to Devon Live in March 2020, Edward reiterated his apologies to locals who were fed up of seeing the unfinished grey 'eyesore', but he also asked them to "stick with it". He said then: "I know it's a mess, and I have to fix that - but when it is finished it will be amazing. Judge it when it's finished."
From the very beginning the creation of this dream home was a mammoth undertaking, with the site itself causing issues. The house had to be anchored into the bed rock of the cliff, painstakingly engineered to a level that leaves no possibility for erosional hazard - and that took time and money.
When the money ran out the house was left as a shell for years but after securing finance, the final push during 2022 has got the house to the point when it can put on the market in a state that matches Edward's initial vision.
This video from Devon Live is a reminder of how the house looked for many years:
Cross the cantilevered bridge to discover the white-washed, Malibu-style modern mansion that most viewers still remember as just a concrete structure with no windows.
Outside the infinity pool stretches out towards Wales from the north Devon coast and is one of many major and impressive features of the home, and the sea is only a walk down the cliff steps directly from the garden to the foreshore.
From every sea-facing window and cliff-side garden angle there are expansive and panoramic coastal vistas that will leave you breathless as the home's incredible backdrop location.
The curved design and multiple, vast windows, balconies and sliding doors to the garden terrace and pool all combine to optimise the connection to this special coastal spot and each room is dominated by its windows that create its own special angle and view of the sea and sky, cliffs and coastline.
But maybe it's the top of the distinctive four-storey tower where you will find the most mesmerising, sweeping sea views from the curved window design that surrounds you or from the balcony that is reminiscent of a ship's bridge.
Now that the house is looking smart on the outside the estate agent selling it states the house has been 'finished as an exciting blank canvas, giving the new owner the opportunity to design their own interior fit out and landscaping'.
The ground floor contains the principal living areas of the house including a large kitchen area, forming the heart of the house and ready to be fitted out.
The space then flows down steps into the dining room in the circular section of the house. This spectacular space has double height, floor-to-ceiling windows and glazed doors that lead out to the terrace, and the stunning infinity pool.
The living room can also boast vast windows and doors to the terrace and is just one of many spaces where the curved structure of the home creates a special spot to linger and immerse yourself in the uninterrupted and deeply impressive sea views.
The versatile inside space has five bedrooms across two to four floors, but more rooms can be dedicated to sleeping if required. There is a bedroom suite on the ground floor with access to the terrace and another special slumber zone is the second floor ensuite bedroom in the tower where guests will be overjoyed to stay and surely won't want to leave.
The £10m sale also comes with a bonus, new build in the garden that also featured on Grand Designs - a detached property called The Eye which is fully finished and featured at the end of the TV episode.
This single-storey accommodation can also boast far-reaching sea views and a striking architectural design as a mini complement to the main contemporary mansion next to it. All the rooms face the sea views and have access to the front terrace, which features a sunken hot tub.
Estate agent Knight Frank states: "Chesil Cliff represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to own one of the most spectacular newly built waterfront homes anywhere on the UK coastline with three acres of grounds including a private beach cove and foreshore with panoramic sea views over Saunton Sands and Croyde Beach."
But after over a decade of a gruelling project that cost 54-year-old Edward more than just money, he says he has no option but to sell it to cover the large amount of money he had to borrow, with the total costs set to reach around £6m.
In April 2022 Edward told Devon Live: "I cannot make any plans of what I do next until it is sold - but I would be very surprised if they involved any more big build projects. I think I need a physiatrist and help with PTSD.
"I'll always be proud to have finished this. I owe it to my family to have a real end result, but the time has come to move on. I will have achieved what I set out to do, never deviating from the plans, and for that I'll always be proud. These past 10 years have been a marathon slog - and I have got used to being a millionaire in debt."
Chesil Cliff House is for sale with a guide price of £10m with Knight Frank, call the Exeter branch on 01392 249863 to find out more. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, renovation stories and interiors, join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter, sent to your inbox twice a week.
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