FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

This eco-friendly hidden gem is small but perfectly formed, writes Jack McKeown, and provides a private oasis of calm amid the hustle and bustle

Taigh Diomhair is a house that’s well named – it’s Gaelic for “secret house”. And that’s what Taigh Diomhair is. Located right in the heart of St Andrews, it’s hidden away in its own quiet courtyard. The new build home was built by St Andrews based developers Eastacre. The property company was set up in 2009 by Mark Wilson and Iain Landsburgh. They specialise in small-to-medium luxury developments in St Andrews and the surrounding area.

Previous projects include redeveloping six flats on the Scores – which all sold for more than £1 million each – and West Burn Lane, a development that won the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) Best Building in Scotland award in 2015.

Taigh Diomhair was built using a plot of land left over from the firm’s redevelopment of a neighbouring block of flats.

Eastacre’s Mark Wilson explains: “We used a section of the communal garden which was overgrown and unkempt. We wanted to bring it back to life and had the idea of putting a small house here.”

HEART OF ST ANDREWS

Taigh Diomhair could not be in a better spot to enjoy St Andrews. It’s on Church Street, which connects Market Street with South Street. A plethora of cafes, bars, restaurants and shops are all around it.

Yet the house itself occupies a quiet courtyard that shuts out all the bustle and noise. A close from Church Street leads to a door that opens onto a lovely little courtyard with a beautiful new house at its heart.

Though it’s surrounded by tenement blocks on all sides the house somehow manages to be sheltered and private. Lock the door to the close and the courtyard becomes your own little oasis, sheltered from the town’s bustle.

It’s an incredibly well-designed house that shows what can be done with a small space. Most impressively, it has almost complete privacy despite being surrounded by buildings on all sides.

Windows have been oriented to maximise light and avoid being overlooked. A fence made of Siberian larch screens the house from any neighbouring windows that could look in. “We’ve been very particular about materials,” Mark says. “We could have used ordinary timber for fencing but larch is incredibly hard wearing. It requires no maintenance and as it ages it turns a beautiful silver.”

BETTER ALL THE TIME

Indeed, the house has been designed to bed into its environment over time. Its walls are made from Danish bricks that should still be just as handsome a century from now.

A young silver birch tree is placed to offer additional screening and privacy as it grows. The “living” sedum roof will become a haven for plant and insect life once it has a few summers under its belt.

Taigh Diomhair itself is small but makes excellent use of its space.

The house is split into a two-storey section with a single-storey offshoot.

An open plan living room/kitchen features