A multigenerational family home takes design cues from nearby agricultural buildings
WORDS CAROLINE EDNIE PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID BARBOUR
Architect Ann Nisbet did a good deal of research before designing the home that Neil and Sandra Caul share with their two sons, Lewis, 32, and Gregor, 27, and Neil’s mother, Mary, 81, in the Scottish countryside.
‘My team and I worked through the local archives and visited ten farms, gathering information on the area’s building styles,’ says Ann. ‘As a result, the property reflects the distinctive characteristics of this part of Angus.’
The family were living in a farmhouse on their 50-acre smallholding when Neil, 59, a livestock specialist, and Sandra, also 59, who is an agricultural research technician, set their sights on building a new home on a brownfield site three fields away. ‘We wanted a comfortable, easy-to-maintain and economical-to-run house – an eco-friendly property that blends into the landscape,’ says Neil. ‘When Ann came to see the plot, which Sandra and I chose for its great views, she was excited by it and had an understanding and vision that matched ours.’
But their plan also came with a potential problem. A planning application for a home on the site, which was submitted by the land’s previous owner, had been refused. Ann took up the challenge with the help of a planning consultant who advised on policy and got involved in discussions with the local authority. ‘I followed the council’s brownfield planning policy in working out the height and scale of the house, and where to build it so that it is hidden from the main road,’ says Ann. Her strategy enabled the scheme to gain consent without any issues. But the pandemic did impact the project. ‘The day after plotting out the property’s outline on the ground, ready for the concrete slab foundations, the site locked down,’ Ann explains. ‘The family spent their first three months in two static caravans looking at the shape of things to come.’
Despite spending a much-longer-than-anticipated two years living in the caravans, Neil and Sandra put the inconvenience behind them to focus on enjoying their new home. ‘It’s bright downstairs and the polished concrete floors reflect the sunlight coming in,’ says Sandra. ‘Upstairs is cosy with great views from every side of the ho
