Environmental sustainability is not restricted simply to reducing plastic or eating less meat; it extends to our built heritage as well. Rescuing an old property – recycling it, effectively – is often a much greener option than knocking it down and putting something brand new in its place. The owners of this house in the Cairngorms National Park must have been sorely tempted to take the latter route, however, when they first saw the dark, dank and neglected condition it was in.
They’d been searching for a suitable rural site on which to build a new home, but when a three-bedroom Victorian cottage at the edge of the ancient Abernethy forest in the Cairngorms came on the market, they decided to take a look. It scarcely met their requirements for a “comfortable, contemporary, practical, safe and enjoyable home to retire to” – in fact, it had very little going for it at all, as project architect Thomas Fitzgerald of South Queensferry-based WT Architecture explains: “It had no connection to the garden or to the forest beyond. The living spaces were isolated by internal corridors, with unlit and treacherous level changes, and the entrances were uninviting and impractical.”
Rather than raze it to the ground, though, he and the owners looked to preserve the cottage’s Victorian character and modernise it at the same time. “The aim was to put contemporary living spaces into a light and open extension. It was vital to give the clients spaces that had both a visual and a physical relationship with the garden and the woods.”
Achieving this would require the partial demolition and alteration of elements of the house, as well as the building of the new addition. It took just over a year to design and to secure permissions before the seven-month-long construction could get started with local family-run business Colin Lawson Builders as the main contractor.
Denne historien er fra January - February 2020-utgaven av Homes & Interiors Scotland.
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Denne historien er fra January - February 2020-utgaven av Homes & Interiors Scotland.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Escape BOATH HOUSE
An inspirational Georgian manor house in the north-east offers sanctuary to artists, poets and the curious of spirit
Escape THE LOOKOUT
Sun-drenched interiors, right on the beach - it's hard to believe this is Scotland
"It still feels like home. Just nicer"
The owners of this house in Edinburgh didn't intend to give it a complete makeover, but once they started they just couldn't stop
A SCOTTISH LOVE STORY
You need passion to persevere through a lengthy restoration project. Thankfully for this rambling old lodge in Highland Perthshire, its new owners were already head over heels
CLEAN AND POLISH
Ten years in the making, this one-time dental surgery in Portobello has been reshaped as an elegant, practical family home
MEET THE MAKER RACHEL MACLELLAN
You might think the process is purely creative, but designing knitted textiles requires a deep understanding of geometry and pattern calculations. It is intricate and often mathematical. I have learned that knitting demands a constant balance between artistry and engineering. Creating a new textile involves not only selecting colours and yarns but also considering the tensile strength, elasticity and drape of the material. That way, I ensure the final product is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. To me, this blend of creativity and technical precision is a fascinating aspect of knitted textile design.
IN THE KITCHEN AT PARTIES
It's all in the details for this slick and multifunctional entertainment space
JUST A HINT OF PINK
This family-orientated Georgian kitchen gets an upgrade in both footprint and finish
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Beauty and the best of Scotland on the shores of Loch Ness
LAURA THOMAS
The environmentalist has become a very successful entrepreneur whose products are stocked by Scotland's best hotels