Sian Evans is loving her new life in a dream home in the countryside (Image: John Myers)
Sitting on the vibrant sofa or in the garden of this stunning countryside Georgian house, she could pass for a successful business owner enjoying her dream new home.
It’s only when her guests notice the platinum discs on the wall that they realise whose house they are actually in. You might not be entirely sure of the song’s name, but there’s a good chance you’ve heard it.
In 2011, it debuted at number one on the UK singles chart and the music video has gone on to be streamed 37 million times on YouTube. It’s one of those songs that, once you’ve heard it, it might stay in your head for the rest of the day.
But the singer behind the huge hit, Sian Evans, stepped away from the industry and is living a new life in a small and quiet town where she has swapped a microphone and guitar for a spatula and frying pan in a dream home which is also a B&B.
The gorgeous Sea View, a three-storey Georgian home in the idyllic town of Laugharne on the south Wales coast (Image: John Myers)
Sian, lead singer and songwriter of electric pop rock band Kosheen, found major success with the group’s first hit single, Hide U, from their debut and platinum-selling album Resist in 2001. She went on to have a bigger hit with DJ Fresh when they collaborated on Louder in 2011.
But when the Covid-19 pandemic forced many people to reevaluate their lives, and their careers, it gave Sian the time to think about how to back-up her songwriting and performing career with a secondary job that would keep the income flowing. She decided to pack up her life in England and move back home to Wales.
And when house-hunting for her new forever home, she came across Sea View, nestled into the winding lanes of Laugharne, in Carmarthenshire, a stunning detached Georgian property that was once home to legendary poet and author Dylan Thomas and his wife, Caitlin.
Sea View used to belong to literary great Dylan Thomas (Image: John Myers)
Sian Evans, the renowned Welsh singer and songwriter, outside her Georgian home (Image: John Myers)
Sian told WalesOnline: “It was a hell of a move for me because I didn’t know a soul here. And it was a brave move because it’s a big old house and it wasn’t what I was looking for. I was looking for some land so I could grow my own vegetables and produce.
“The initial move was because of the pandemic and not knowing when my performing career would become buoyant again so I decided to move here, start a new life and business here, maybe let out a few rooms, and it has taken off really beautifully.”
Sian relaxing in the living room of this Georgian gem (Image: John Myers)
Sian has now been running her business for almost three years, and says: “Hospitality and performance are the same energy. When people come to my shows I want them to leave feeling replenished and energised and having had a good time. It’s not about the performer, it’s about the audience and what they take away from it, and it’s the same with the BandB. I want guests to eat well, sleep well and genuinely unpack their lives and enjoy this environment in Laugharne that I’ve come to absolutely love.”
Sian has become very comfortable at morphing from singer to chef and then back again, with the band back in demand and currently touring in Europe while Sian also runs music workshops from her home.
Sian says: “The gigs have come back, and they’ve come back with a vengeance, thick and fast. So now, some days I don’t know if I’ve got a frying pan or a microphone in my hand. I’m dropping my bags in the hallway and starting a fry-up!”
The dining room is home to Sian’s most loved item – the table made by her best friend, plus her grandfather’s piano (Image: Jo Ridout)
Sea View captivated Sian’s heart from the moment she stepped inside, even making her feel light-headed with excitement. She says it is even more special when it is filled with people and music, laughter and chat. She says: “I love it. I run a breathwork retreat here, I’ve done singing workshops and lessons here, and my grandfather’s piano is very well-employed here, including breakfast guests playing it after breakfast.
“This house, even in the silence it rings with music, creativity and the odd, past argument. You can feel there’s a lot has gone on in this house, I never feel alone here.”
Laugharne visitSian Evans, the renowned Welsh singer and songwriter best known for her role as the lead vocalist of the band Kosheen, operates an Airbnb at Sea View, located on Market Lane in Laugharne. This charming property offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience the serene beauty and rich cultural history of Laugharne while staying in a home connected to a notable figure in the contemporary music scene. (Image: John Myers)
Sian even throws a party for the community in her home every Christmas, to give something back: “It’s absolutely teeming with people here, they go through the buffet like locusts and it’s just so lovely to have that energy in the house again, for it to be ringing again, full of singing again, and I think this house loves that, I don’t think it was feeling happy when I moved here because it has been empty for such a long time.”
This is the window where it is said Dylan Thomas’ wife Caitlin would sit and enjoy the view (Image: John Myers)
Sian didn’t have to change much when she moved in, saying she has changed very little apart from moving in her furniture and hanging her artwork: “The previous owner had a fantastic eye for design… and it’s so in keeping with the Georgian vibe.”
Sian has put up some of her discs and is amused when some guests make the music connection (Image: John Myers)
The whole house is full of items from Sian’s travels and items that mean something to her, including the display of gold and platinum discs on one wall. She says: “Guests don’t generally make the music connection, I’ve got a few of my discs on the wall. I’m quite sheepish about my achievements really, they have been in boxes for years but now they’re on the wall and people notice them and they’re like, ‘Oh, I know that song’ or ‘I know that band’ and I say ‘Well, that’s me’ and they go, ‘NO!’ because, you know, I’m standing there in my pinnie!”
Sian’s eclectic collection of artwork, of course, includes one of Sea View (Image: John Myers)
Even on a dull day the view across the estuary towards the sea and Gower peninsula is mesmerising (Image: John Myers)
Sian in the doorway down to the kitchen where the breakfast fry-up magic happens (Image: John Myers)
Sometimes Sian sits in Sea View, in a location that is breathtakingly beautiful, and she can’t quite believe her good fortune. She said of her new start: “Take a deep breath and just do it. If it doesn’t work you can do something else. My whole life has completely changed for the better. Every morning I wake up and breathe fresh air, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
