Minimalist marvel
Clean lines bring light and space to this luxury country home
THIS house is not a home for kids with dirty hands after a sunny day in the garden or dogs fresh from wallowing in a country stream. This is a white house. It’s white on the outside and very white on the inside – everywhere.
Oisinn is the Gaelic word for corner and has been chosen as the name for this uber-cool home on a private road, rich in high-value properties, in Strathblane, just to the north of Glasgow.
Technically, the house lies within the ancient county of Stirlingshire despite – rather confusingly – its city postcode.
It sits in a generous ‘corner’ garden of some half an acre, nestled in the shadow of the Campsie Fells which loom over Glasgow like a sleeping giant.
It is clear that Oisinn is the result of an individual architect’s vision of shaping the accommodation around the movement of the sun during the day.
Huge windows are a feature of most of the apartments, some with glazing on three sides to maximise the light coming in.
A minimalist theme runs through the house. There are no radiators on the walls to clutter the look, thanks to underfloor heating from a high-efficiency, gas-fired Keston condensing boiler.
With uniform white on the walls and ceilings, in most of the rooms the only colour is provided by the sofas, in blue and red, or the oak doors and flooring.
A lovely family room at the back of the property is double-height, with additional windows looking out to the garden, making it one of the brightest spaces in the whole house.
The adjoining Bulthaup kitchen is very high end, with central island, sink with Quooker tap and appliances by Gaggenau and Siemens. Even the utility room is by Pronorm, a contemporary luxury German kitchens company, whose nearest showroom is located in Richmond upon Thames, in southwest London.
The house is pretty hi-tech, too. It boasts a central vacuum system and CAT5 cabling, with room speakers recessed into the ceilings, so as not to intrude.
A cupboard in the utility room has been turned into a ‘comms cabinet’, through which all the wiring for the property is routed.
Intelligent lighting offers individual room controls so that you can change the prevailing ‘mood’ however you like.
For peace of mind, a security system is in place, which is monitored by Redcare.
The first floor, reached via a sleek staircase with glass balustrade, has five bedrooms, all big enough to swallow a sizeable sofa as well as a bed. That’s one of the benefits of a home which extends to 4,708 square feet, or 437 square metres.
The entire top floor has been devoted to a cinema room, the only part of the house where you will see a radiator, save for the chrome towel rails in the bathrooms.
There are four Velux windows on the roof, again the only place you will see windows not made by NorDan, a Norwegian specialist firm whose products are guaranteed for up to 60 years. Meanwhile, the reception hallway borrows from the Arts and Crafts movement, by having a wall-recessed limestone fireplace with living flame pebble and driftwood style gas fire to provide a warm welcome.
A triple-aspect lounge offers access to the garden, via French doors. Here, a patio area allows you to dine outside in good weather or simply chill beneath the hills.