Biker’s unique pad has vroom with a view...

A unique modern home on the site of a former grain store

I bought the site in 2009, when it was a disused grain store dating back to the late 1700s, early 1800s.

Planning permission had been granted to the previous owner for a conversion, but when we began work on it, we discovered the mortar was crumbling and there were no foundations. We had to reapply for planning permission as a new-build.

I mothballed the process for a while and picked it up again in 2015.

We started afresh with the architect on the plans – I’d never undertaken anything like this before but had always fancied a project.

We were fairly constrained with the exterior.

It was the same footprint albeit with a modern extension on one gable end. The planners were very clear it had to look like an extension and couldn’t tie-in with the rest of the building, which is what I wanted anyway. The sudden transition of stone and slate to glass and timber cladding works well. We used the existing stone from the original building for the rebuild and, where we were lacking, we sourced locally from knocked-down farmhouses. The slate on the roof is from my old primary school in Castle Douglas, which was replaced by a new school.

Having been restrained by planning conditions outside, inside I could pretty much do whatever I wanted.

I dismissed the normal constraints of what you supposedly should have in a house and did what I wanted, and made it work.

I like black, so I painted it black.

We have lots of windows, so the black doesn’t feel enclosing. It’s actually the opposite – it provides a cocooning, secure effect. It’s not oppressive. Each window is like a black picture frame with a view to the countryside, rivers and trees. The floor is poured concrete, which came from lots of research on places like Pinterest. I had never seen it done in a house before, but I thought it looked great. I found these guys south of Edinburgh who did it. It’s four or five very thin layers over a concrete slab with the underfloor heating beneath. They poured a layer, then scraped in lots of different shapes, let it harden and smoothed it, then did the same again and again, building it up to give a cloudy effect. It was one of the most expensive elements but I love it – it’s so smooth, almost a soft feeling.

A couple of my favourite things are the shelving unit and the cantilever staircase.

I spent a lot of time working on both with the architect, designing them in detail, and both work really well. With the giant shelving unit on one side and windows on another, it left one big blank wall. We toyed with lots of ideas like a sculpture or another installation, but then we spoke to a graffiti artist in Glasgow and he came down and we picked this image, which looks great.

We also have our bikes in the house.

Not only is it convenient, but they are like pieces of art, too – especially the Harley under the stairs. The colours and space just works, so why not put them on display? The thing I like most about the house is that it’s me and reflects my personality, lifestyle and experiences, and I don’t think properties often do that.

See Mark and Carol-Ann’s house in the opening episode of series three of Scotland’s Home Of The Year, BBC Scotland, Wednesday, 8pm