Home in Highland Perthshire

A contemporary house near the Highland Perthshire village of Fortingall is clad with stone and larch and fits nicely into its beautiful countryside setting. Solar panels and high insulation levels keep running costs low and eco credentials high

Droplets from the morning’s heavy rain shower hang on the leaves of the trees surrounding Sealladh Na Beinn. The house is in the hamlet of Garth, near the Highland Perthshire village of Fortingall and a 15 minute drive from the town of Aberfeldy.

Inside, miniature poodle Brodie lounges on his bed, tired from his morning walk, while owners Henrietta

and Ian Powolny show me round.

The house was constructed by local builders AKG, and Henrietta and Tom have lived there since it was completed in 2008.

Clad in stone and larch with a slate roof, it sits a short way up a gravel track on land that once belonged to Garth House. The other homes that make up the hamlet are situated so they don’t overlook one another. “There’s a really nice feeling of community here but at the same time you have a lot of privacy,” Henrietta explains.

At the heart of the house are two interconnected rooms, the kitchen/ dining room and the neighbouring living room.

The kitchen is dominated by an island topped with a huge slab of granite, with an overhang making room for a breakfast bar. The dining table sits beside the full height windows, which flood the room with light and afford fantastic views across to Drummond Hill.

“This place really suits our lifestyle,” Henrietta explains. “Ian loves cycling and climbing Munros – you can bag quite a few walking straight out from the front door – and I’m a runner, so there are no shortage of trails for me.”

The living room is split into two areas by a freestanding wood burning stove. One is for lounging and TV watching, the other for reading and gazing out of the windows.

Off the living room is an enormous guest bedroom with a Jack ‘n’ Jill en suite off. “This was intended to be two rooms but we though it worked much better as a single room,” Henrietta continues. “It could also be used as a formal dining room.” Upstairs are two double bedrooms and a large master bedroom with a dressing room and en suite shower room.

The gardens wrap around the house. Ian and Henrietta had them landscaped after they moved in: flowers, shrubs and fruit trees provide colour and variety.

A 4KW solar array reduces the couple’s electricity bills and the large garage has a floored space above and could be developed, possibly into an artist’s studio.

With a daughter and grandson in the central belt, Ian, 66, and Henrietta, 64, are looking for somewhere a little closer so they can help with child care. “This is just too far away for where our daughter is,” Henrietta says. “We will miss having all the outdoor pursuits we have on our doorstep though.”

There’s a nice feeling of community but at the same time you have a lot of privacy