Our lucky number three

From the Middle East to the north-east, the Arnotts are certainly well travelled. Philippa Gerrard found out more about the house that brought them home

The arrival of the new millennium was an exciting time for the Arnott family.

Having recently returned from the Middle East and busy re-acclimatising to winter in Scotland, the year 2000 saw them move into Number 3 Station Road in Bieldside, Aberdeen.

From the offset, Heather Arnott, now 54, recognised it as a solid choice for a family home, though it wasn’t exactly a case of love at first sight.

“We’d been looking for a house for such a long time before we saw this one,” she said.

“As a family we’d been living in Oman for a few years but wanted to come back to the UK and base ourselves here.

“We viewed Number 3 and nearly wrote it off because it needed quite a bit of renovations.

“Basically it was upside-down living, with the bedrooms downstairs and the lounge and kitchen upstairs.

“It just didn’t suit us but for some reason we came back for a second viewing and got a really good feeling about it.”

With two young boys to think about, Heather, a teacher, and husband Stuart, who works in oil and gas, decided to take a chance on Number 3. Happily that chance paid off and now 18 years later, it has proven to be a more than worthy family home.

“When we moved in we turned it back to a more conventional living style almost right away,” Heather said. “We replaced the roof and added an extension on the living room too, so it was a bit of upheaval to get it exactly right for us.

“But I’m so glad we did as it’s made it into such a great house with wonderful living space.

“That’s why we’ve stayed so long!”

With sons Cameron, 19, and Andrew, 23, now both based in Edinburgh, Heather and Stuart are excited by the prospect of taking their renovation and building skills to the next level, and are planning to design their own house on the banks of Loch Tay in Perthshire.

Although they are up for the challenge of a new project, it’s not easy for them to say goodbye to their beloved Number 3.

Built in 1968, the