WILD AND WINDSWEPT Happy memories prompted the build of this island home – as spectacular as the scenery it sits in
Happy childhood memories resulted in the building of this stunning contemporary home in the spectacular landscape of the Isle of Skye
EXTERIOR
The modern, single-storey structure was designed and built by local architects Dualchas.
It’s clad in local larch that has quickly aged in the wild elements to a soft silver grey
HALLWAY
The hall links the main building with the annexe, which houses guest bedrooms. A classic Le Corbusier chaise longue is in the perfect spot for relaxing and enjoying the view
LIVING ROOM
The interior of the house has been kept simple, with Caithness stone flooring throughout. The walls contain lots of concealed storage, which allows the interior to remain minimal. The upholstered furniture came from Skandium and Ligne Roset, while the glass table is from Noguchi
KITCHEN
Another partition wall contains the kitchen, built by Dualchas, with charcoal grey units and Caithness slate worktops.
The walls and ceiling are clad in white-oak-veneer plywood
‘The house has been designed for how I live and work’
Dominic Houlder has been coming to the Isle of Skye since the 1970s, when his mother bought a traditional croft in Boreraig on the shores of Loch Dunvegan. ‘I spent many happy holidays on Skye as a child,’ he says. ‘I always look forward to coming back. My work as a professor of strategy at the London Business School takes me all over the world and I’ve lived abroad a lot, but Skye has been a constant throughout my life.’
When Dominic’s mother died in 1998, he kept the cottage on and rented it out as a holiday let, but he yearned for a place of his own, somewhere more spacious that was more his style. Luckily a plot of land next door to his mother’s croft was available and a seed was sown.
‘In 2004 I met Neil Stephen of Dualchas Architects and we knocked ideas around about what was possible. I also looked at what was being built around Skye. Originally I’d thought about a traditional black house – I had seen some on the Isle of Lewis and they’re common throughout the Highlands – but I felt it might end up being a pastiche, with its thatched roof and stone walls and decided instead to go for something more contemporary,’ explains Dominic.
They came up with a plan for a modern, shed-like structure that would chime with its surroundings, incorporating galvanized metal, which is seen on the tin roofs in the area, and larch, which is plentiful locally, and featuring a limited colour palette taken from the landscape – heather, bracken, stone and the lowering sky. ‘Everywhere you look, the old stone crofts have been repurposed into sheds with crinkly tin roofs, and I wanted to bring that feel to the build,’ says Dominic.
Planning permission was granted and the building work started in September 2009. The main structure is long and low and linked to two separate buildings that house guest rooms and a garage. It is clad in larch that has weathered to a soft silver grey. Huge full-height windows look over a ‘lochan’ – a small loch with the sea beyond. In keeping with Dominic’s open-plan vision, the main living space is open to the ceiling but has been split into three sections with
partition walls – there’s a lounge, then a dining and kitchen area and a studio/study, all with a minimalist vibe.
The partition walls were originally rendered in cement, but it proved impossible to get a consistently smooth finish over such large surfaces. However, they found a man in Glasgow, Hugh Smith, who specialises in Venetian plaster, which consists of thin layers of burnished plaster to which ground marble is added.
The result is a pale grey finish that gleams in the light.
The interiors are based on a grid system – the 600 x 600mm Caithness stone floor tiles line up exactly with the white-oak plywood wall panels. ‘I was keen to keep it simple with carefully selected pieces of furniture. There’s concealed storage in the walls –I want to look at the building, rather than what’s in it. Clean, Scandi designs work well and, in fact, anything from Skandium looks good here,’ says Dominic. ‘The house has been designed for how I live and work. It lends itself to writing and concentrating, and I can develop lectures. And with substantially better telecoms, life is a lot easier than it used to be.’
Although Dominic still travels extensively with his work, he says he would rather be here than anywhere else in the world. ‘There’s a natural rhythm to being here that I don’t get anywhere else, which makes it very calming.’
For more information see, dualchas.com