Wellbank Farm Steadings is a beautiful agricultural conversion on the outskirts of the pretty Angus village of the same name.
It was converted 12 years ago from a derelict steading building. Today it is a wonderful contemporary home within a traditional stone and slate shell. Highlights include a stunning cinema room, double-height living room and a self-contained annex flat.
The ruined steading was bought by Charles Penman, 36, who owns construction firm Angus Engineering. He converted the building into three houses, with he and his family moving into one of them.
Number one is a four-bedroom, four bathroom home with plenty of space inside and out.
Charles’ wife Rasa meets me at the door on a sunny February morning. Despite a chill in the air, inside the home is bright and warm thanks to impressive levels of insulation.
A long, well-lit corridor forms the backbone of the house. To one end of it is the lounge. This is a fabulous room, with a vaulted ceiling, feature stone wall and windows on three sides.
Reusing left over stone
A wood burner nestles in a fireplace within the stone wall. “We had to knock through the wall to create windows in here,” Rasa, 41, explains. “The leftover stone was used to create the feature wall and fireplace.
“It’s a lovely room and when the fire is on it’s incredibly warm in here. We do tend to live in the kitchen though – the living room is mainly used for gatherings and special occasions.”
Along the corridor are two double bedrooms, one of which has an en suite bathroom. There is also an enormous family bathroom that’s beautifully appointed. A huge two-person spa bath occupies the centre of the room. “We’ve sometimes thought about putting in a hot tub in the garden but then we have a hot tub right here,” Rasa smiles.
It’s easy to see why the family spends most of the time in the kitchen. It is a lovely, bright room at the rear of the house with a spacious dining area, handsome arched windows and a pair of French doors out to the garden.
Stairs behind the kitchen lead up to Rasa and Charles’ master bedroom. This occupies a quiet end of the house and has its own dressing area and luxury en suite bathroom.
The window in the master bedroom is at a low level and is perfectly placed to gaze across the Angus countryside while lying in bed.
To the front of the house is a large courtyard with plenty of parking for all three houses that form Wellbank Farm Steadings. The main part of Charles and Rasa’s private garden runs down the full length of the house and features a good stretch of lawn.
Outbuilding with cinema room
There are also two large sections of decking adjacent to one another. One of these is open to the sky while the other is sheltered. It contains a huge homemade barbecue, seating areas and space for a bar. After dark it can be lit up, with three large vintage style lamps illuminating the space, and numerous string lights making it glitter from afar.
The decking abuts a large timber-clad outbuilding. On the ground floor is perhaps my favourite room so far. The cinema room has a projector, a huge screen and high end sound system. A pair of red leather couches provide comfortable spots to watch a favourite movie. There’s a bar and even a vintage popcorn machine. A WC means you don’t have to pause the movie for long to have a bathroom break.
Tiny LEDs set into the ceiling form the pattern of the night sky. “This whole room has been a labour of love for us all,” Rasa continues. “The lights are one of the things I’ll miss most. We arranged the constellations in the zodiac signs of all our family members.”
Next door to the cinema room is a large home office, where Rasa’s two elderly dogs are happily lounging in sunny spots.
“We absolutely love having this building,” Rasa continues. “I have my office out here. It means I can work here without interruption from the children. At the end of the day I can close the door and go back to the main house – I don’t have the temptation to go back on my laptop after work. When I’m not working the children love to come out and watch films.”
Rasa works as an accountant and is also training as a quantity surveyor.
Annex flat
A staircase leads up to the outbuilding’s upper level. Here there’s a studio apartment which is lived in by Rasa’s 20-year old daughter Patricia. “It lets me have my own space away from everyone but still be close enough for meals,” Patricia smiles.
There’s a large open plan room with a bed and space for a sofa. The apartment has a small kitchenette and a spacious en suite shower room. A pair of French doors give fantastic views across the countryside.
On top of being well insulated, 1 Wellbank Steadings has full double glazing and oil fired central heating.
As well as Charles, Rasa and Patricia, the family consists of their 14-year old daughter and a six-year old son.
Moving on
Almost a dozen years after they moved to Wellbank Farm Steadings, Charles and Rasa have decided it’s time to move on. One Wellbank Farm Steadings is a beautiful house in a great location, so it’s no surprise Charles and Rasa have accepted an offer on it already. They’ve also had their offer accepted on Balmuirfield House, on the edge of Dundee, which they saw after reading about it in The Courier’s property pages.
“Originally we were intending to downsize but somehow we have ended up upsizing,” Rasa laughs. “We read the article in The Courier then we went to see it. After just a single viewing we immediately put an offer in.
“It’s on the banks of the Dighty and it has five acres of woodland so although we’ll be closer to town it will still feel like we’re in the countryside, which we love.”
1 Wellbank Farm Steadings is marketed by Verdala for offers over £425,000.
