Imagination and innovation all under

WHEN the Harvey family moved in to Remilton 17 years ago, it was a small, three-bedroomed farm cottage, tucked away in a pretty corner of rural Fife. It is hard to imagine now, as the property has been completely refurbished and extended into a fantastic, contemporary family home.

Alison Harvey explains: “We had always fancied taking on the refurbishment of a property and putting our own stamp on it, and we really loved this house because of the location.

“It’s close to Cupar, but very quiet and peaceful – all the benefits of rural living on one hand but on the other, you are very close to the amenities of the town.”

Remilton lies around two miles west of the thriving market town of Cupar, in the beautiful north east Fife countryside.

“It was the first time we had done anything like this, but my husband Steve worked for an engineering company and had experience of different build projects,” says Alison.

“We actually lived in the house as it was, for a year, to see how the light moved around it. Making the most of the natural light was right up there at the top of the list for us.

“Most of the rooms have windows on two sides, so they all get the best of the morning and evening sun.”

The house is bright and airy, thanks in part to clever and creative use of windows and open plan spaces.

“Open plan living is very common now, but back then it wasn’t as popular,” says Alison. “Our friends live in Texas and we had been out to visit them a few times, and over in America, open plan was how they lived – fewer, bigger rooms, rather than lots of smaller ones.

“It gave us the idea for our house, and it works very well.”

She adds: “It’s a very social house – we have had lots of parties here, and it is very good for entertaining.”

The ground floor includes the sitting room, with its raised fireplace, beautiful bay window with views out over the surrounding countryside and glazed doors opening to a lovely west-facing terrace.

A spacious dining hall lies at the heart of the house, with glazed doors opening on to a decking area.

An archway off the dining hall leads down steps to the kitchen, family and breakfast room.

Both Alison and Steve are keen cooks, so the design of the kitchen was important.

“We both love to cook and you’ll see that the hob faces into the room, rather than to the wall – so the person cooking doesn’t miss out when everyone else is sitting chatting in the kitchen,” smiles Alison. Entertaining space has been an important consideration in the design

“It’s one of my favourite places in the house although I love the front room too.

“Here you can sit and look out at the lovely views and watch the world moving by.”

The family area is cosy and comfortable and from here, doors lead to a covered rear entrance, a utility room and a shower room.

There are two bedrooms and the family bathroom on the ground floor too.

A bespoke staircase leads up from the dining hall to a sitting room and study area, which leads through to the main bedrooms.

The spacious master bedroom has an excellent range of built-in cupboards as well as glazed doors, which open out onto