No.5
Marcella FitzGerald and Ian Grant’s self-build home blends into its surroundings on the Isle of Skye – a calm and quiet place to be
FEATURE CAROLINE EDNIE
HOME TRUTHS
THE PROPERTY New-build home
ROOMS Open-plankitchen/ dining/living room, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, office/selfcontained apartment
LOCATION Isle of Syke
KITCHEN
A muted green feature wall defines the cooking area. Feature wall in Gooseberry Fool 2, Dulux. Kitchen cabinetry, Burbidge
LIVING AREA
The hybrid mid-century modernist style, with its Scottish vernacular references, reflects the owners’ taste. This openplan kitchen/dining/living area has extensive glazing opening onto a balcony above the seashore. Leather armchair; rug; Harmony pendant lamp (over table), all John Lewis & Partners. Sofa, Sofology. Cushions, Home in the Highlands and Balmacara Square. Vintage Ercol dining suite, from a charity shop
HALLWAY
A mural of the Catterline landscape on the northeast coast of Scotland is a wonderful welcome to the house. Mural by Scottish artist Joan Eardley
The first thing that Marcella FitzGerald sees and hears when she wakes up in her Skye home is the sea loch. ‘Depending on the tide, I open my eyes and I might see a heron, thigh-deep on the shore hunting for breakfast. On other mornings the loch water seems to lap on the windowsill. It may be blue-grey rippling satin, or an olive green sheen so still that it mirrors the hills and clouds, or the water might be frantic with the jabbing rain and wind.’
Marcella and her husband, Ian, have lived on the island for 16 years, since relocating from central London, and decided to embark on their first self-build 10 years ago. The couple were keen to build a contemporary energy-efficient house in the island settlement of Carbost, where they could enjoy the drama of the coastal location, yet still be part of this lively local community. The site they chose was a former potato field between the main road and the rugged edge of Loch Harport. Ian’s design envisaged a dual-personality house – a quiet haven for the couple but one that would also include Ian’s office, which in turn could be shut off to create a self-catering apartment if an alternative source of income was required.
An open-plan kitchen, sitting and dining area occupies a third of the floor area and opens along two walls onto an elevated deck above the shore. The glass walls slide back into a concealed recess, so that the entire corner of the room seems to expand into the open air. The decor is kept simple, allowing the architecture and location to do the talking. The exposed concrete blockwork and peat-coloured Ketley Brick quarry floor tiles contrast with the clean white plasterboard trims and soft matt white of the other painted surfaces. Interior d
