Houzz Tour: A Scottish Croft Creatively Transformed for Flexible Living
Once a dilapidated barn and cottage, Torispardon is now a contemporary home inspired by the buildings and landscape around it
It’s no easy task to take on a derelict croft and transform it into a beautiful home, but when Thelma Archer acquired her property in the Central Highlands of Scotland in 2008, she knew who to ask for help. Her son, Stuart Archer, was completing his qualifications to be an architect and he worked with her to design a new home. ‘The main thing for Mum was creating a generous home with enough space to put up family and guests, but for the house not to feel too massive when she was home alone,’ says Stuart.
Photos: David Barbour
Photos: David Barbour
The croft consisted of a derelict cottage and a barn, or steading. This provided Stuart with inspiration for the new design. ‘Farmers’ crofts in the Highlands often consist of several outbuildings within their boundaries,’ he explains. ‘As a farm expands, a new outbuilding is built. This approach seemed the most appropriate to take here.’ So instead of creating a single new home, Stuart reconstructed the buildings on their original footprint and added a contemporary structure to link the two areas.
This suited Thelma’s need for flexible space. The cottage contains two en-suite bedrooms for guests, but she can also shut off this area when she’s alone. She then just uses the link area, which houses the kitchen-diner and utility, and the steading, which contains the master suite and living areas.
This suited Thelma’s need for flexible space. The cottage contains two en-suite bedrooms for guests, but she can also shut off this area when she’s alone. She then just uses the link area, which houses the kitchen-diner and utility, and the steading, which contains the master suite and living areas.
Stuart worked with architect Liz Marinko at the planning stage. ‘The site is within the Cairngorm National Park and was subject to strict controls,’ says Stuart. ‘Liz helped me draw up all the planning applications.’ It took 12 months to reconstruct the property, which was completed in August 2014. Now the house is a versatile and light-filled space, sitting respectfully within its landscape and enjoying panoramic views over the Scottish countryside.
The masonry is granite and whinstone, reused from the original dilapidated buildings. ‘We knocked them down and had a big pile of stones to work with,’ says Stuart. ‘The building was painstakingly rebuilt by a family of local masons.’
The masonry is granite and whinstone, reused from the original dilapidated buildings. ‘We knocked them down and had a big pile of stones to work with,’ says Stuart. ‘The building was painstakingly rebuilt by a family of local masons.’
The cottage (to the right) and steading are made from the traditional local stone found throughout this region, while the link building looks more contemporary. Frameless glass elements tie the buildings together physically, while allowing the three structures to remain visually separate.
The steading is sunk partially into the ground, cutting into the land behind as it rises so it appears to sit in the landscape.
‘We kept the landscaping to a minimum,’ says Stuart. ‘We retained the existing levels, and used local flora and any unused stone from the construction so the new buildings blend naturally into the surrounding fields.’
The steading is sunk partially into the ground, cutting into the land behind as it rises so it appears to sit in the landscape.
‘We kept the landscaping to a minimum,’ says Stuart. ‘We retained the existing levels, and used local flora and any unused stone from the construction so the new buildings blend naturally into the surrounding fields.’
The main living area is in the steading. It’s a double-height space with mezzanine snug above. ‘The sitting area has a large corner window with deep oak sills,’ says Stuart. ‘It’s a lovely place to sit and look out over the landscape beyond.’
The Highlands experience extreme weather, from long hours of sunlight in the summer, to temperatures reaching minus 20C. ‘It’s an exposed site that deals with large amounts of snowfall, wind and rain,’ says Stuart. ‘All the architectural details, such as the glazed walkways, had to be designed to take into consideration the weight of snow loading on them during winter.’
The link building has a steel portal frame structure. ‘It means you can have large spans of glass with minimal need for supporting columns,’ says Stuart. The result looks elegantly contemporary, but also unobtrusive.
Steps from the steading lead up into the link building, which houses a large, modern kitchen-diner, with a utility and boot room that can be closed off to the rear.
‘I like the contrast of the traditional materials with the light, modern interior,’ says Stuart. ‘That was central to the design.’
Stuart designed the kitchen and it was made for the space from MDF with a granite worktop. ‘The granite has been treated, so it’s matt,’ adds Stuart.
Engineered oak flooring, Russwood.
‘I like the contrast of the traditional materials with the light, modern interior,’ says Stuart. ‘That was central to the design.’
Stuart designed the kitchen and it was made for the space from MDF with a granite worktop. ‘The granite has been treated, so it’s matt,’ adds Stuart.
Engineered oak flooring, Russwood.
‘Mum was obsessed with the kitchen!’ says Stuart. ‘She felt it should be large and open plan, as it’s the social hub of the house.’ The steel portal frame structural system allowed the space to be entirely column free and open. ‘There’s a large kitchen island that’s designed so that when you’re doing the washing-up, you have a great view,’ says Stuart. ‘People can also sit at the island while food is prepared.’
Appliances are all integrated for a seamless look and there’s masses of storage. ‘The contemporary aesthetic was mainly my idea, with the concession that there had to be an Aga,’ adds Stuart. ‘The middle link building is a timber box with lots of contemporary details, such as frameless glass windows and sliding doors. It’s all quite modern and precise. If we’d put a country cottage kitchen in there, it wouldn’t have worked.’
Appliances are all integrated for a seamless look and there’s masses of storage. ‘The contemporary aesthetic was mainly my idea, with the concession that there had to be an Aga,’ adds Stuart. ‘The middle link building is a timber box with lots of contemporary details, such as frameless glass windows and sliding doors. It’s all quite modern and precise. If we’d put a country cottage kitchen in there, it wouldn’t have worked.’
To the rear of the steading is the master bedroom with dressing room, en-suite bathroom and a first-floor study with balcony. Skylights let in plenty of natural light, which is boosted by the pale colour scheme.
Explore how to make a white scheme work in your home
Explore how to make a white scheme work in your home
The steading is clad with locally sourced Scottish larch at the rear. ‘It was important to use local materials for sustainable and aesthetic reasons,’ says Stuart. ‘Properties nearby have a half timber, half stone construction, so there were lots of local precedents for this.’
The glazing is an important feature of the design. ‘From the chunky painted timber windows of the steading and cottage, to the frameless Swiss sliding door system, the concept was to carefully select and maximise the views of the beautiful surroundings,’ says Stuart.
Tour another beautiful Scottish home in the Inner Hebrides
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Tour another beautiful Scottish home in the Inner Hebrides
TELL US…
What do you love about this striking Scottish home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here Thelma Archer, retired
Location Spey Valley, Central Highlands, Scotland
Architect Stuart Archer and Liz Marinko, torispardon.co.uk
Size 300 sq m; 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
That’s interesting The house is called Torispardon – Tor means a high rock or pile of rocks on a hill in Gaelic