An Abandoned Mansion's Incredible Transformation Into An Amazing Retreat

See inside this incredible mansion renovation

Charlotte Church made her name in the UK as the child opera singer-turned-popstar with the "voice of an angel," but now she has forged a new career path into the world of hospitality - with a difference. Church has long been a political activist, with a particular passion for issues of wellness and environmentalism. In an effort to pursue both, Charlotte bought Rhydoldog House, a beautiful old mansion in Wales’s beautiful Elan Valley, with the intent of renovating it into a wellness retreat.

Read on to see how the project took shape and the extraordinary labor of love she undertook to build 'The Dreaming'...

Laura Ashley's home

The property was once the family home of Welsh fashion icon Laura Ashley, who founded a furnishing textile company in the 1950s but soon expanded her business to include clothing design. By the 1960s, Ashley's characteristic florals, 'shabby-chic' prints and vintage-inspired clothes were world-famous, and Ashley herself was a well-established business woman.

Rhydoldog House

Laura Ashley and her husband, Sir Bernard Ashley, purchased Rhydoldog House in 1961 as a country retreat for their young family, as well as a base for their rapidly expanding business operations. The couple used the home to host-high level board meetings and extravagant work parties, and even used the grounds as a backdrop for numerous fashion photoshoots for the company. 

Business and pleasure

In 2009, the home was placed on the market for $1.4 million by a then widowed Sir Bernard, Laura herself having died in an accident nearly 25 years previously. The home's new owners extensively renovated the Victorian mansion, giving it an overhauled Arts and Crafts-style facade, and installing period details including leaded, stained-glass windows, cast iron guttering, and a pillared porch. 

More work to be done

The renovations transformed the home's exterior and structure to bring it up to modern standards, but most of the interior spaces were taken back to plaster and brick. The house still needed a good amount of work to turn into a comfortable place to live. The house was still stripped-down when it was placed back on the market in 2019—but luckily there was a buyer with the vision and drive to push the project forward.

Charlotte's vision

In spite of its rich history, the estate was clearly in need of a lot of work at the time Charlotte Church put down $1.7 million for it. Church had originally been on the hunt for a field where she could start a glamping business, but when she stumbled across Rhydoldog House, she fell "madly in love", as she told Metro.

'The Dreaming'

Given its semi-completed renovations, the property was identified by the estate agent as a real opportunity for creativity. The buyer could either choose to continue along the course of improvements begun by the previous owners, or could start again, pursuing their own artistic vision for what the property could become. Charlotte chose the latter path. 

A massive project

Armed with boundless optimism and a renovation budget of just $646,000, she set out to turn the shell of a mansion into the retreat of her dreams. Given the amount of work to be done, this was no mean feat. "Every member of my family and every one of my friends thought I was mad," Church admitted. Church’s renovations would include seven bedrooms, the communal ground floor, the addition of ensuites, and the sprawling 49-acre grounds.

The road to renovation

Fortunately, Church’s builder dad James was on hand to give guidance on the project. Church also consulted a wide array of experts over the course of her renovations, ranging from conventional plasterers, painters, and plumbers, to more abstract advisers, including indigenous tribal elders, sound healers and conservationists. The renovations were all captured on camera for her new docu-series, Charlotte Church’s Dream Build.

Open for business

After 18 months of renovations, Church announced via her Instagram that the property was ready to take bookings. Appropriately named The Dreaming, the completed retreat is billed as "a place for healing through experiencing beauty and wonder". In Church’s own words, The Dreaming experience is intended to be "gentle and self-guided", meeting guests wherever they are in their lives and providing them with a bespoke, healing experience.

The Cwtch

The ground floor of the retreat is made up of exquisitely appointed communal spaces, each with its own express purpose. The Cwtch, Welsh for cuddle, is the most relaxed of the communal spaces, encouraging guests to snuggle up with a warm drink, play a board game, listen to records from The Dreaming’s curated collection, or even just take a nap. With soft, neutral tones and plenty of plush pillows and blankets, the room is designed to swaddle you in the comforts of home away from home.

The Print Room

The print room is a cozy and inviting space to curl up with a book, and honors the property’s previous owner, fashion designer Laura Ashley. Ashley ran her multinational interior design company from her family home in Wales during the 1960s, and supposedly designed many of her famous prints in this very room, inspiring its name. Church even worked with the Laura Ashley team to design a wallpaper scheme for the room, using a tiny motif from a vintage Laura Ashley dress.

The Refectory

At The Dreaming, communal meals are shared three times a day in a large refectory at the heart of the house. With two long banqueting tables, a hodgepodge of comfortable kitchen chairs, a large fireplace and plenty of exposed brick, the room feels like a cozy country kitchen. The ceiling is festooned with bunches of dried flowers, and a set of double doors leads directly out into the grounds, giving the space a bountiful energy.

The Healing Room

Paying tribute to the estate’s original function as a Cistercian monastery in the 15 century, the sun-drenched Healing Room serves as space for group activities such as movement, yoga and sound healing. Church herself plans to serve as a practitioner at the retreat, leading "chanting and singing to the land" exercises as part of the "daily rituals" in which all guests are encouraged to participate.

The Wanderer

Each room in The Dreaming is unique, and carefully designed to give guests a different restful, rejuvenating experience, depending on their individual needs. The first room Church and her team finished, The Wanderer, is packed with relics from Church’s own travels, from African masks to Peruvian faces, and is listed as being "for explorers". The room boasts a view of the elemental garden and Nant Caethon Valley below, which is highlighted by the black window casements and ceiling.

The Mushroom

Warm, earthy and grounded, The Mushroom takes its inspiration from mycelium, the network of fungal threads that connects all the plants of the forest together. With rustic natural materials, dark antique furniture and neutral tones, The Mushroom is a space for relaxation and reflection. A particular highlight of this room is the enormous walk-in shower, which takes up an entire wall of the ensuite.

The Moon

Flooded with natural light, The Moon is designed as a "purifying and calming space" to "honor the Lunar goddess". White walls, scrubbed oak flooring and flowing white fabrics make the room feel light and airy, while natural, handmade materials adorn the luxurious bed and seating area. In the ensuite, a "moon-shaped" soaking tub overlooks the Moon Garden below.

The Dawn

Steeped in the colors of sunrise, The Dawn features rustic pine furniture, an altar to honor the sun deities and a private balcony from which to enjoy the breaking of a new day. All of the room’s soft furnishings are handmade and naturally dyed to reflect the colors of sunrise, giving the impression that the room is soaked in sunlight no matter the time of day. Across the hall, The Dawn’s bathroom features a Moroccan-inspired tangerine tadelakt shower.

The Womb

The Womb is designed as a celebration of the various stages of womanhood. With a pink color palette, flowing ruffled fabrics and soft lighting, the room is meant to evoke "the feeling of being swaddled". To heighten the "womb-like" experience, the ensuite (also pink) features a "playful" tadelakt shower which Church herself told Metro online "could be likened to a very large and unusual-shaped vagina".

Creativity and sustainability

Though not a designer herself, Church led the charge on the theming and styling of each room. When asked to describe her own interiors style, Church said, "I have very imaginative and set ideas about what I like and want, and it’s not very ordinary". Her conception of The Dreaming was guided by sustainability. "I love vintage finds and as much as I can I have bought second-hand," Church said, "and we’ve made things from fallen trees in the grounds."

Forest Spirits

Inspired by Japanese design and culture, particularly their tradition of forest reverence, Forest Spirits is the most sophisticated and most expensive of the seven rooms. While all the other rooms are designed for two to three individuals to share, Forest Spirits’ king-sized bed is suitable for one individual or a couple. The room features traditional Japanese tatami flooring, bamboo furniture and a view of the woodlands behind the house.

The Mystic

Sumptuous and elegant, The Mystic transports guests to the warmth and splendor of India. The bed canopy and all the hand-sewn furnishings feature Indian saris in shades of tangerine and pink, embellished with gold. Meanwhile, the leafy, "temple-style" ensuite offers another tadelakt shower and an armored accent wall. The room also offers a private balcony with views of the Nant Caethon Valley and elemental garden.

Pay-what-you-can spaces

In light of the current cost of living crisis, Church feels strongly about making the retreat as accessible as possible, ensuring that the rooms are "all at different price points so people can access it". Currently, the rooms range from $175-$372pp per night. Though Church blew her own $556,000 budget on the renovations, she cares more that people be able to use and benefit from The Dreaming than about making up her losses. "There will be a pay-what-you-can space on all the retreats that we do," Church told Metro.

Expansive, experimental gardens

For Church, one of the most important aims for The Dreaming was to reconnect guests with the natural world. Drawing inspiration from the beautiful surrounding Nant Caethon Valley, and partnered with Chelsea Flower Show gold medalist Juliet Sargeant, Church created a plethora of outdoor spaces designed to harness the healing power of nature. Now, guests can unwind in an Elemental Garden, a Moon Garden, a Physic Garden full of medicinal herbs, a functioning potting shed and a Japanese Tea House.

Sustainable dining

In addition to their purpose as places for relaxation, the gardens fuel the retreat's sustainability as well. The Dreaming’s meals are prepared from "The Rings of Rhydoldog", a collection of permaculture market gardens, as well as a series of polytunnels, and a "burgeoning food forest". Guests are encouraged to help work in the gardens, planting seeds, harvesting vegetables and then helping in the kitchen to prepare meals from the freshly farmed produce.

Ceremonial spaces

In addition to the gardens, Church has also created an assortment of "ceremonial spaces", designed to "elevate the experiences of our guests, and bring rhythm to the year". These include the Waterfall Shower, a natural waterfall with a platform that allows guests to immerse themselves in the stream; the Court of the Holly King, honoring the ancient Celtic personification of winter; a Woodhenge, the traditional precursor to a Stonehenge; the Pool of a Hundred Reflections, a small pond; and the Den, a place for outdoor sleeping for those who truly wish to immerse themselves in all this natural setting.

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