The Herald - The Herald Magazine
A warm Highland welcome within
GORGEOUS interior design full of rich colours and luxurious textures fills every room at Auchindachy House, an impressive country home in Morayshire. The Scottish-themed dining room, for example, has original hardwood flooring, deep blue walls and even bespoke tartan upholstery on the chairs.
Owner Margaret Reynolds runs Dogrobes, which supplies coats and other accessories for dogs, and the company’s stylish, speciallycommissioned tartan in red, charcoal grey and white, graces the seats and soft furnishings.
Margaret’s skilful design touches are in evidence throughout this beautiful fourbedroomed home, which sits in a secluded woodland setting near the small town of Keith in the north-east of Scotland.
“She has a fantastic eye for this kind of thing, and at the design stage, can really see how a room will look when it’s finished,” explains her husband, Martin.
“When we moved into Auchindachy with our young daughter around 15 years ago, it needed a lot of work done to it, and Margaret project-managed the whole thing.”
Martin and Margaret moved to Morayshire from England, via a spell in Europe, and they loved the idea of living in an older country house. Auchindachy fitted the bill perfectly.
“We loved the space, the privacy, the country living even though you are close to shops and facilities – it had everything we wanted,” says Martin.
“We’re not big fans of modern homes, we love the old granite houses, so that’s what we had set our sights on.”
He smiles: “It’s been a project, shall we say – but we have loved doing it. We have done it slowly, and I’d say it’s taken us about eight to 10 years to get to this point, but it has been worth it.”
Auchindachy House dates back to around 1880, commissioned by the Duke of Fife as part of a large estate, with fantastic views over Strathisla.
The Reynolds have comprehensively renovated and refurbished the property, transforming the old hen house – which was built from the same granite and slate as the main house – into a magnificent sun room and an excellent utility room with double Belfast sinks; adding an en-suite to the master bedroom; enlarging the main bathroom; creating a fantastic open kitchen with an Aga, and much more besides.
“I wasn’t into cooking at all until we got the Aga, and now I love it,” laughs Martin. “It’s an excellent addition to the house. We wanted to make the house as modern and comfortable as possible, but at the same time, we did our best to preserve the traditional features, like fireplaces and flooring.
“What I’m most proud of, though, is the woodwork. We restored it all – doors, skirting, floors, sometimes returning 15 or 16 times to each piece to sand, wax, lacquer and more, and it looks great.”
The rooms at Auchindachy are spacious and elegant, from the ground floor sitting room with its marble fireplace, bay window and hardwood flooring to the comfortable lounge, complete with open fire and slate surround. A passage leads from the hallway to a cloak room and WC, a store with stairs down to the wine cellar/workshop and a door to the dining room. At the end of the passage, a door opens into the beautiful kitchen, which includes – as well as the aforementioned oil-fired Aga – a central island with two sinks and a waste disposal unit, a range of well crafted, bespoke floor units and a very attractive classic flag stone floor.
Glazed double doors from the kitchen
lead through to the dining room and there are two staircases – the main one, with its beautiful carved balustrade, and the former servants’ staircase – leading up to the first floor, which is home to the bedrooms, shower room and bathroom.
Outside, the grounds extend to about 0.75 acres, beautifully secluded behind a wall, hedging and mature trees.
They include lawns, beds and borders, two patios and a fantastic summer house with a raised decked area and space for a hot tub.
“I love the gardens and have spent a lot of time working on them over the years,” says Martin. “The views across the countryside are quite something.
“We are in a great location, just at the start of the Whisky Trail, and easily accessible by road. We’re handy for the airports, for Inverness and Elgin, and we’re only about 25 minutes’ drive from the beautiful fishing villages along the Moray coast.
“If you like the country life, there are many opportunities for walking, climbing, fishing and more all on your doorstep.”
Martin admits he will be sad to leave Auchindachy House behind.
“This has been a great family house for us and a proper labour of love,” he smiles. “Every inch of it has been worked on and restored, and we have loved living here
– we will definitely miss it. ”
We loved the space, the privacy, the country living even though you are close to shops