The farm sits high on the edge of the Ochill hills. Our clients had under took a careful restoration of the landscape and outbuildings. They planted some wildflower meadows, built a walled garden and carefully restored some ancillary and farm buildings.
The project to restore and extend the house came near the end of that process. The main aim was to connect the kitchen extension with the landscape which we did by dropping the level by 1/2m with 3 long shallow concrete steps. The cedar clad kitchen /dining/sitting room leads directly out onto a sheltered terrace on the east while to the west the grass has been brought back up to the glazing. We also returned the main entrance to the front of the house with a large utility entrance to the rear.
The house was quietly restored. The chimney stacks were rebuilt, the new front steps were removed and the original Caithness slabs were taken up and re-laid, the staircase was restored and simplified and the fitted oak utility furniture was adjusted and re-used. In the detailing of the project we made a clear but complimentary distinction between new and old.
Photography by David Barbour