So it is with Andrea Carr and Peter Williams, a London couple who risked it all by borrowing a dizzying seven-figure sum to realise their bold vision of leaving the city behind and starting up an organic B&B and gallery and achieving a more serene lifestyle by the sea.

Their confidence and enthusiasm for the joint venture - The Organic Panda B&B and Gallery in St Ives, Cornwall - is infectious. And it's easy to understand why when you step inside their funky but elegant Victorian home/business with its white walls, high ceilings, chunky recycled wood furniture and brightly coloured works of art. That's to say nothing of the jaw-dropping, panoramic view of St Ives Bay from the property's huge windows.

"The idea of a B&B and gallery was a stroke of genius on Peter's part," says Andrea, who worked as a set designer beforehand, while Peter ran an organic cake-making business. "It became a venture we could put our skills and experience into equally, to create something that is about both of us."

The inspiration for the business came to Peter during their first viewing of the property back in summer 2004 as he looked out to sea from what is now the biggest of their three guest bedrooms. Back then, it barely resembled today's cool reincarnation, as it had been empty for two years and was all boarded up. On the market for £275,000, it was one of three buildings that had been knocked together after the War to create the Dunmar Hotel. Even though the house had no walls to divide it from its neighbours, the pair fell in love with it instantly.

Back in London, Peter and Andrea put in an offer, only to be told that a rival buyer wanted the entire hotel and they'd have to come up with £845,000 to fend them off. Undaunted, they began to think about developing the building into three houses themselves.

"We met various people who sowed the seed in our minds about doing a development," recalls Andrea, who re-mortgaged her London property and borrowed money from her family to increase the amount of equity she was able to put into the project. "We realised that the best way to make up that shortfall was to have a partner. So I was put in touch with someone who was looking for an investment." Fortunately for Peter and Andrea, their business partner-to-be also saw the properties' potential and came in with them.

Work began in September 2004, when Peter moved to St Ives and lived and worked on site as project manager while Andrea masterminded the interior design by phone. Inevitably, with a project of this scale - which involved taking the entire structure back to its shell and creating three separate houses, each with their own electrics, heating and high-spec fit-out - not everything went to plan.

"I was learning as I went," Peter says of the build, which was meant to be completed in just six months. "At times I sensed things were going wrong but I didn't know enough to say, 'This is what we should be doing.'"

"It went beyond deadline and over budget, and it seemed at one point like our dream had become a nightmare," relates Andrea, who cleared her diary of work so she could oversee the look and finish of the project.

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Nonetheless, the first house sold in June 2005 for £467,500 - £50,000 more than expected. This enabled them to press on with the corner property, the B&B, which - after the couple took the difficult decision to replace their original team of builders - progressed smoothly, enabling them to move into their own quarters on the top floor and finally open for business at Whitsun.

The third home, which belongs to their business partner, was completed two months later. "It took a year from start to finish," Andrea says. "But in the end we were proud of it." What's more, they were able to pay off the bank and the extra debt they incurred.

All along, the couple stuck to their plans for how the business should run - as a sustainable concern centred on organics, wellbeing and art. The breakfasts and toiletries are organic, they use biodegradable cleaning products and the B&B is powered by sustainable electricity. Peter bakes bread and cakes on site and also caters for dietary requirements. "When I first got into organics, it was so worthy that it scared people off," he explains. "I feel it should be accessible to everybody."

The gallery aspect functions as both a business and creative outlet for Andrea, whose paintings hang in the Organic Panda, alongside works by her artist parents and friends. "I think we fit into the spirit of St Ives," she says.

The full feature appears in the July-August issue of Coast Magazine, on sale now.

The Organic Panda, 1 Pednolver Terrace, St Ives, Cornwall, 01736 793890, www.organicpanda.co.uk. B&B from £32.50 per person, per night.

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