BALANCING ACT

Supported atop a steep embankment by the remnants of a ruined mill, this house in rural Aberdeenshire is an ingenious blend of old and new

- Caroline Ednie

Larch Mill, a new home in rural Aberdeenshire, is not just a testament to the value of patience and perseverance in the quest for the perfect plot. It’s also a fine, and sustainable, example of respecting and ultimately carrying on the legacy of traditional working farm buildings in this part of the world.

The owner, Wilma Geddes, had been searching “for many years” for a site on which to build a home. “I was looking to create a contemporary, minimal house for one person – me – that could accommodate family during their frequent visits,” she explains. Eventually, in 2017, an opportunity arrived via her employers. “I work part-time as a picture-framer in a gallery in the Aberdeenshire countryside,” she says. “The gallery owners (who also own much of the farmland around it) mentioned they were selling some building plots. I took a look and liked one particular site that had the remains of an old mill on it.”

The tumbledown stone building had once been part of a working farm. The mill sat at the lowest level of the site, adjacent to a narrow burn, and was embedded to the rear in a steep embankment. A plateau at the top of this 3m-high bank matched the height of the mill’s eaves. “I could see that the site had loads of character, thanks to the old stone of the mill,” Geddes recalls.

“It also had plenty of space around it to make a garden. A stream runs along the edge of the land, and there’s a pond area that’s yet to be developed – a project for the future.”