Cottage chic near Inveraray

Four years ago we purchased a tiny old cottage named Church Cottage.

On the grounds of that property we have now built the Coachmaker’s Cottage where a shed that had outline planning permission for an additional building once stood. Church Cottage is surrounded by four acres of its own woodland leading down to the loch frontage and this shed was a prime site for an additional dwelling to enjoy the stunning views.

I had always dreamed of building my own house and imagined a property with a traditional Scottish exterior with a contemporary interior.

It took us 18 months to build the cottage, but it was made difficult during lockdown because we are based in Devon, which limited capacity to visit the site to work on the building.

It was really important that we worked with a builder who knew the area.

Especially in the Highlands where sourcing materials can be tricky. As we weren’t on site it was important to research our builders to ensure reliability and ability to project manage when we were unable to be there. Jim Smith was excellent and we think he did an amazing job.

We had strong ideas about what we wanted to achieve with this property.

These were made a reality by a well-known local architect Shauna Cameron. The spiral staircase is one of the main features of the property and which I made in my workshop in Devon, and my skills as a carriage maker and wheelwright came in very useful. The central column was turned out of one single piece of wood.

The theme of carriage making is found throughout the property.

You can see it in the items of furniture and fittings we chose, such as the carriage wheel chandelier above the staircase and coffee table. Although this is a new build we wanted to create a traditional Scottish house which blends

into the surroundings.

Many people who have viewed the property have assumed that it is a renovated old house which makes us very proud.

We wanted the interior to have open plan living with clean lines.

We had a clear vision of what we wanted and were uncompromising in achieving this – everything is exactly how we wanted it to be. Furniture and furnishings were chosen with comfort, functionality and Scottish traditions in mind. Having worked on Church Cottage before helped with our vision.

Because of lockdown we had to source everything online.

This was sometimes a gamble as we were unsure about the quality but we were very pleased with our choices and think everything came together really well. The interior started from choosing a base colour for each room and evolved from there. We like that each bedroom has an individual style with unique fittings and lighting.

My favourite part of the property is the approach.

I love the excitement of heading into the grounds through the gateway hidden amongst the mature trees with the loch and the mountains in the background. It’s very beautiful.