As a keen birdwatcher and photographer who spends much of his free time out in the hills, Scott James is always on the lookout for the weird and the wonderful. He has trained his eye to see what the rest of us might miss - and it is this ability that led directly to him now living in a wild stretch of north Ayrshire countryside. Out on a walk one day with his Belgian shepherd dog Maxie, he wandered down a single-track road lined with ash trees where he came upon an old stone building that had fallen into ruins. Intrigued, he took a good look around and when he got home he decided to research it.
"I just thought it was beautiful," he says. "I found out that it dated back to the early 1800s, when it was built as Cuddymoss farmhouse, before later becoming a cattle byre. All that was left of it were the four external walls, a concrete slab floor, a single internal stone wall and two brick walls. I began thinking about how it could be reinstated, as there was definitely potential here to make it into a home. I felt I'd like to celebrate its history and add to its story. My idea was to elevate the ruin rather than swallow it up with something new.
He got in touch with the landowner about buying the site, and at the same time contacted architect Ann Nisbet. Scott had noticed her name when he was researching the plot; she had designed a house nearby that was one of the first to gain planning permission under new guidelines for single houses in the north Ayrshire countryside. "I emailed her to say I was considering a plot for a self-build and asked for her advice to point me in the right direction, Scott recalls. The pair instantly established a meeting of minds, bonding over the possibilities of the site, which Scott purchased a year later, in 2016.
Bu hikaye Homes & Interiors Scotland dergisinin July - August 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Homes & Interiors Scotland dergisinin July - August 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Escape EASTSIDE COTTAGES
This tiny house, full of clever architectural solutions, is hidden away in a valley near Penicuik
THE WRITE ANGLE
This glasshouse in Edinburgh was a necessary upgrade for two writers who needed an escape from family life
Turn back the clock
Sometimes we have to look back to step forward. This home was stripped of its ultra-modern interior - and it has never looked better
A place of our own
Bold, brave choices paid off handsomely when the owners of this Edinburgh flat decided to put their stamp on the place
REFUGE FROM THE STORM
Two hundred years of Atlantic gales reduced this cottage to a wreck. Now, though, the gently restored Mull bolt-hole has a brighter outlook
The starting point
As the first project of both its original architect and the one who would reshape it 150 years later, this little coach house in Argyll has been on quite a journey
MORE THAN SKIN DEEP
The beauty of this Edwardian home lies not just in its gorgeous surfaces, but in a full-scale retrofit that's made it as energy efficient as a new Passivhaus
SPACE TO BREATHE
Several ugly extensions marred this cottage in rural Aberdeenshire until a rethink gave its owners a simplified layout and much more eco-friendly home
MELANIE O'DONNELL - Ceramic artist
The best thing about creating ceramics is the way you can get lost in another world.
Reading LIST
Design that will stand the test of time is the focus of our latest batch of books, all of which deserve a prime spot on a very stylish coffee table