HIGHLAND HIDEAWAY
Restraint and simplicity lie at the core of this restored Victorian holiday home, whose new look refuses to compromise on style and comfort – yet respects the heritage and features of the original building.
There’s no shortbread tin ‘twee’ or tartan curtains in John Burke and Susie Whyte’s nine-bedroom period holiday home in the countryside. In fact, there’s no curtains at all.
“I think people thought we couldn’t afford them,” laughs Susie. “But it’s really about bringing the landscape inside and ensuring the building doesn’t compete with it.”
It is a place of quiet beauty, the type of place you’d expect to find a homely Highland lodge with open fires, wood panelling and the odd pheasant wandering around outside. But it wasn’t always so homely.
“It looked like a big fancy cream cake,” notes Susie of her initial introduction to the property, which is called Dun Aluinn. The cornices and gables were painted candy pink, typical of its Queen Anne Victorian style, and very little updating had been done to the interior with the exception of a new heating system and windows. The couple wanted to create something that didn’t compromise on quality and finish yet still respected the integrity of the building, a former hotel and boarding house for the local school. Susie set about dialling back those pink details – revealing the architecture and the landscape.
“It had this lovely, eerie, ‘haunted house’ feel to it and I didn’t want to lose that,” she explains. “My aim was to reveal the architecture, as opposed to renovate it.”
Taking no credit for the decorative conclusion, John handballs to his wife Susie, who “had the final say from the
start, with his full consent”. Given her extensive career as an interior designer and architect it made sense, although, she admits, the design is an expression of both their talents, John being the more flamboyant in terms of style and Susie more ‘restrained’.
It was John’s confidence and ‘can-do’ attitude that got the Italian Art Deco drinks cabinet from Barcelona to Aberfeldy, for example.
The dining room table, on the other hand, was Susie’s brainchild. John was happy to buy a table but Susie had the idea to design and make it from scratch. The result is a 5.5-metre work of art made from poured bronze and oak – understated yet a real focal point in the house, and a symbol of celebration, explains Susie.
WHO LIVES HERE
Susie Whyte and John Burke live here in Scotland’s Perthshire countryside, surrounded by the mist-shrouded mountains of the Tay Valley. The nine-bedroom property is known as Dun Aluinn. Situated on an elevated site overlooking the town of Aberfeldy and the sweeping River Tay, Dun Aluinn has 5.5 acres of private grounds with an extensive terrace with stunning views down the Tay Valley to Schiehallion. There are amazing walks directly from the house, including the famous Birks of Aberfeldy walk. Susie and John enjoy relaxing on the terrace on ‘Sandur’ sofas and chairs from Oasiq, warmed by a Kadai fire bowl.
“MY AIM WAS TO REVEAL THE ARCHITECTURE RATHER THAN RENOVATE IT.”
SUSIE WHYTE
Like much of the design choices, the table is confidently simple, using high-end materials and expert craftsmanship without a whiff of bling. The process of establishing 21st-century smarts and swagger – without overly gilding the lily – while maintaining the authenticity of a period home takes careful precision, pushing boundaries when required.
For a seasoned professional like Susie, the 6,500-square-foot house was another ‘project’ but still provided a few challenges. The bathrooms were the most rewarding aspect of the design process but equally the most demanding. They had to be minimalist, simple yet functional – a difficult balancing act in an old property. The Japanese bath in one of the bedrooms, for example, required precision planning. “We had to bring new plumbing to the area, dig up joists to sink a special water tray and waterproof around it. Special lats were made to match the floorboards; it involved a lot of mixing of trades.”
Although restraint and simplicity underpins the design, there are some bold and daring flourishes. Susie had reservations about the Farrow & Ball Off Black hallway, but it makes a dramatic, and surprisingly warm, entrance. “It’s probably my favourite space, the dark walls and the open fire makes it really cosy. I love the panelling and the staircase with the original banister and ironmongery.”
Authenticity was a constant watchword for Susie. A lot of the original woodwork, while salvaged somewhat, is still intact. “The floors in the sitting room are made up of three different sections of wood,” she says. “It’s not perfect but the building has an age and we didn’t want to hide that. It was about keeping it honest.”
She admits that proved tricky at times when her team wanted to make everything ‘shiny and new’. “There was a bit of convincing,” she laughs. “But, carpenters Hamish Walker and
“THE BUILDING HAS AN AGE AND WE DIDN’T WANT TO HIDE THAT.” SUSIE WHYTE
Andrew Brown were masters at finding pieces of woods that matched and seamlessly blending them with the original.”
This modern ode to late Victorian living continues in the kitchen with a design that riffs on a Victorian scullery kitchen: simple shelves above and open shelves below and the addition of a walnut veneer, a nod to the contemporary.
“It had to have two functions: be able to host a caterer and also be functional for everyday living,” says Susie. “A local kitchen company, Braco, did an excellent job merging the two so that it feels like a piece of furniture that simply blends in with the house.”
There are spaces in the house where an all-pervading sense of time suspended remains and others where modern living announces itself with aplomb. Anything new in the house is in the context of the building and not imposed on it.
“We used an Iroko veneer in the boot room which contrasts with a lot of the house, but it works beautifully.” What underpins it all is Susie’s sympathetic approach to marrying old and new. “There is a sense of achievement now it’s all done. We went over budget and that can be stressful, but I know we’ve created the home we wanted: it’s not austere, it’s comfortable, simple and honest.”