I'm an INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER living in Valencia, Spain, and married to my Spanish wife, Garbiñe.
I was born in Northern Ireland in the 60s. To escape 'the troubles' my parents took the family to the USA then returned to England and settled there.
It was a huge adventure for a 10 year old to go to the USA and to school in Philadelphia and then in Dallas.
After that the family settled in ‘the Midlands’ in the picturesque town of Malvern, Worcestershire.
At university I studied ‘European Business Studies’, which included an academic year in Clermont-Ferrand in central France, and finished with a 2:1 B.A.
My year in France left me fearless of working ‘in Europe’, and also of learning languages, and over the next years my jobs were many and varied, including working: i) valuing investment funds in Paris, ii) selling real estate between Villajoyosa and Moraira (Costa Blanca, Spain), iii) in a 5 star hotel in the ski resort of Saas-Fee, Switzerland iv) in the British Pavilion at the ‘Seville 1992 World Exposition’ ( ‘Expo ‘92’), v) in Barcelona managing a small ‘Industrial Rope Access’ team.
After all that adventure I could speak 4 languages and had wide-ranging work experience, but nevertheless decided to study Industrial Design, and to do so returned to the UK where I got a 1st Class B.Sc degree in Industrial Design after 3 year’s study.
That led mainly to employment in engineering firms in the car industry, and to long-term and short-term projects ‘in Europe’ – a few years at Ford, Köln, Germany and a few years at Ford, Valencia, Spain – but also time at Jaguar in the UK and at Nedcar in the Netherlands. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDL_Nedcar ).
Employers include Comau (https://www.comau.com/en ) and Icemi (https://www.icemi.com/es/ ), and responsibilities include mechanical design and project management.
I do however also have experience in furniture design and a particular interest in solid wood, which I am sure you will appreciate in the decoration in the house.

I first came to Villajoyosa Old Town for a long rest after finishing working in Paris. The contrast in lifestyle between valuing investment funds Monday to Friday in the financial district in Paris and relaxing in Villajoyosa was huge. I was smitten!
I bought this house even though I could not live here permanently at the time. Spain became my favourite country and as you can see in the section above, I have constantly returned to Spain.
I remember when I finished my 2nd Winter in the ski resort of Saas-Fee and for a change I specifically looked for work in Spain and found it in the British pavillion at the World Epo '92, in Seville. On another occasion I specifically wanted to live and work in Barcelona, and did so for several years.
And years later when an engineering project finished at Ford Valencia and Comau wanted me to return to the UK that I preferred to remain in Valencia, where I settled and married my Spanish wife, Garbiñe.
So I've lived in the south in Seville, the north in Barcelona, and settled in the middle in Valencia – this is where I want to be and I've made a lot of effort to be able to settle here permanently.
This house is the first property I bought and I've been lucky enough to not have to ever sell it, but instead be able to renovate it completely so I can enjoy it with my wife when its not being enjoyed by guests.
As a designer, I have revelled in being able to choose my favourite traditional elements – colourful geometric floor tiles and old wood on view in doors and ceiling beams – and mix in modern creature comforts – modern kitchens and bathrooms that complement the traditional. All done to a quality that my wife and I would be prepared to live in ourselves – and which is a cut above the typical level of decoration for holiday rental accommodation.
Living nearby and speaking the language also has significant benefits for managing the property in general and specifically for being able to get anything sorted for guests if required.

The vast majority of houses in Villajoyosa are very 'vertical' – typically only 30 – 40 square metres per floor but three or four floors. That means that typically you need to go up and down stairs quite a lot.
But we have been lucky enough to buy 2 neighbouring 'vertical' houses and make an extensive reform affecting both of them so that now both of them have a more or less open plan space on a single floor that contains living room / dining room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.
How was this possible? Well if we call the houses Nº10 and Nº12, we did the following:
At ground floor level we gave most of the ground floor of Nº10 to Nº12 by replacing the wall between them with steel beams at ceiling level and making a new separation leaving only the entrance and staircase at ground floor level in Nº10. This created the double-sized open plan ground floor in Nº12.
On the first floor we left everything as it was – each house has a bedroom and bathroom on the first floor.
On the second floor we gave all of Nº12 to Nº10, again creating a double-sized open plan space with living room / dining room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom on one level.
In both properties this larger space on one level is much more comfortable to use and enjoy than having two smaller spaces separated by stairs. Even when just sitting there – .e.g. in the living room or the bedroom, the sense of space is much more pleasant and the eye can rest on e.g. a picture on a wall a long way away.
This house is Nº10, and has the inconvenience when coming and going that the main living space is on the second floor – every time you come into the house you have to go up two floors of stairs to get to the main open plan living space – but on the other hand the advantage is that you then have great views from the balcony down to the sea and from the window to the church square, and with just one more flight of stairs you're on the roof terrace, with its all round views.