A former stable and hayloft near Scotlandwell has been a 23 year labour of love for its owner, who painstakingly converted it before adding an outstanding new extension – using YouTube to learn new skills. The result blends history and craftsmanship
Andy Sheppard bought the Coach House in 1994, when he was a single man in his early 30s.
The six bedroom house lies up a single lane track near Leslie and Scotlandwell. “It’s a former stable, hayloft and cart shed,” he explains. “There was a living room and bedroom upstairs, accessed by an external staircase.
“It was in a pretty bad state and everyone said I was mad for buying it but I fell in love with the place as soon as I saw it. I put some polythene over the holes in the roof and moved in.”
Andy (55) spent years renovating the 17th Century building before adding an extension in 2013.
Remarkably, he built almost all of the extension himself. “I used a labourer for two years,” he explains, “and by law you need an electrician to do the electrics. But I did the bulk of it myself.”
How did he learn everything from groundwork to roofing, building a staircase to plumbing a bathroom?
“On the internet!” he laughs. “You can learn how to do almost anything online these days. I’d stay up until three in the morning watching YouTube videos on what I was going to do the next day then be up at seven to get started.”
Having worked for many years as a designer of extensions and conservatories for Molozowski and Murray, Andy was itching for a project of his own.
“I was probably a bit overconfident,” he admits. “There’s a whole bunch of things they say not to do as a first time building. Cantilevers, curved walls, all sorts of things – I did them all.”
The result is a remarkable open plan room with a bank of glass windows overlooking the garden and countryside beyond.
There’s a dining area and sofas are clustered around a huge wood burning stove. The kitchen has beautiful living edge (or “waney” to use the technical term) worktops made from solid elm.
This lovely, naturalistic live edge wood features throughout the extension and Andy even placed some in the original part of the house to create a flow from old to new.
The staircase is inspired by a horse ramp Andy saw in an old mill and even the bannister has a story. “A friend had a piece of firewood behind his shed. It fitted the curve of the stair perfectly.”
Upstairs is a guest bedroom with Jack & Jill ensuite and a glorious en suite master bedroom with triangular double height windows.
The original part of the house has a dining room, living room, another kitchen, three upstairs bedrooms, a study, family bathroom and en suite.
Andy bought three huge lengths of pitch pine from a demolished Dundee jute mill which created stairs, mantelpiece and many other features.
Outside there’s a large garden with stone stair, walls and cobbled patio.
Andy and his partner Kirsteen (41), an architect, have a 14 month old boy called Angus. They plan to combine her architecture and his woodwork skills to set up a business building bespoke holiday cabins. “We’re on the lookout for a plot with some woodland. We’re happy to move anywhere in Scotland – I just want 30 or 40 acres of woodland and space to build my own wood yard.”
The Coach House, Arnot Tower, Scotlandwell is on sale through Lindsays with a guide price of £850,000.