COMFORT AND JOY
After transforming Cowden House into a family home, owner Debbie Anderson loves nothing more than decking the halls in festive fashion, finds Nichola Hunter
Decking the halls at Comrie's Cowden House, this historic house has been made into a gorgeous family home
Contemporary Christmas or a traditional one? At Cowden House you don’t have to choose. Debbie Anderson and her then husband, John, bought Cowden House in Comrie near Crieff in 2012. ‘I’m from the area, and I always knew I wanted to move back to the Strathearn Valley,’ says Debbie. ‘However, what attracted me to Cowden House in particular was its location.’
Sitting on top of a hill and set in beautiful grounds of nearly 32 acres, one wouldn’t even know the house is there, let alone that it’s only a five-minute walk to the High Street.
‘It’s so secluded, you can’t even see the village and it has amazing elevated views. It’s private yet central, it’s a little haven.’
The old baronial architecture also ticked the boxes, but the interior needed updating to bring the property back to life. ‘Working with James Robertson Architects, we embarked on a three-year renovation project,’ Debbie recalls. We took it right back to the dirt floors so we could renew all the services and
“
We took it right back to the dirt floors so that we could install underfloor heating
install underfloor heating. We insulated the walls and replastered. We’ve almost built a new house in an old shell.’
Originally a small cottage, Cowden House was extended into a two-storey farmhouse in 1707 and then substantially extended again in 1885 when the west wing was added with its Jacobean-style, mullioned window over the hall and a Victorian front porch.
‘Unfortunately, while it had lovely proportions, for us as a family, the Victorian extension didn’t have any particularly good or useful rooms for modern day living. We decided the solution was to add an east wing which would complement the external proportions of the house and create the spaces we needed. We were quite strong
willed with what we wanted but the architect really helped with ideas of how to introduce a Victorian flavour into the new part. He suggested the cupola over the dining area which has worked really well.
‘The new layout incorporated an open plan kitchen and dining area with sliding, partition doors that lead through to a south-facing sitting room along with a panelled boot room, utility room and WC – which is really what a modern family needs.’ Something else a modern family desperately needs, and it was at the top of Debbie’s list, is what she calls ‘the pizza barn’. A covered walkway from the boot room accesses a building that is essentially an incredibly stylish summerhouse which houses a wood-fired pizza oven and real fire. It’s the perfect party spot for adults and kids to hang out.
In the old part of the house, additional beams had to be installed on the upper level to make the property structurally sound, while the sash windows were also removed, double glazed and reputtied. ‘We wanted to ensure there would be no drafts in the Victorian part of the house and also that the house would now last the next hundred years.’
The layout was also altered upstairs, changing seven
bedrooms into five to accommodate a principal bedroom suite with its own dressing room and bathroom and creating a further four bathrooms to service the other bedrooms.
With a clean slate, the opportunity to decorate however Debbie chose was now within her grasp and she went to town. ‘My parents were antique dealers and I grew up with a traditional style and they did a lot of building and renovating too.
‘I knew I wanted to keep the majority of the old part traditional but with a modern extension that was flooded with light, I knew I could go much more contemporary at the other side of the house. Also, having school-age children they’re not always the best match for lush fabrics and old furniture.’
And of course, if you own an interior shop, as Debbie does, and Christmas is on the horizon, the scope to decorate from one end of the spectrum to the other is too much to resist. ‘With all my homes, I’ve always spent a lot of time getting the interiors right and when we’ve sold, the new owners have always bought the furnishings as part of the sale. I think they realised that these pieces fitted best in each room. From that I think I just realised I loved working with interiors
and that is why I launched Be Coorie [an interiors store] in 2019. However, I didn’t actually realise until recently how well this house works for Christmas and just how much fun I can have decorating it.
‘I’ve brought in lots of gorgeous decorations from the shop. In the west wing I’ve gone very traditional with lots of dark colours for a real cosy ambience, whereas the east wing is more fun with vibrant colours and clean lines.
‘I’ve had friends over for hot chocolate around the log fire in the pizza barn which is great fun. For something more formal, it’s drinks and canapés in the snug which is like being in an old Highland hotel and then through to the main dining room for a full-on Christmas dinner.’
The renovation was a long one but for Debbie and her children, Cowden
House is a family home that now embraces past and present. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want an invitation here for Christmas?
“
Drinks and canapés in the snug is like being in an old Highland hotel