© STEPHEN POTTS
Although the site was stunning, there were practical problems to overcome...
ing through the walls,” says David. “The old out- side privy was a ‘two holer’ over the river. It was all very primitive and beyond repair.” Freda and David, a tile importer with a busi-
ness in Belfast, thought they would have consid- erable problems getting planning perm- ission to replace the tumbledown house with a modern, eco-friendly property, so they employed eminent architect Mike Galbraith, who designed Belfast’s biggest shopping centre, Castlecourt, to draw up plans. “I knew him because I’d supplied the tiles for
Castlecourt,” says David. “I’ve always had a bent towards architecture, so I gave him a drawing I’d done myself. He said, ‘That’s OK’, tore it up and said, ‘Now for my idea, and you can tear that up if you want.’ He was right, what’s the point of having a dog and wagging your own tail?” Although the site was stunning, there were practical problems to overcome: it was on a long, narrow stretch of land with a 60 foot drop to the sea on one side and a busy main road on the other. Overhead power lines prevented a tower crane being brought in, which made getting materials onto site difficult. And the Scotts wanted to divert one of two natural springs adjoining the property to create a fresh- water pool, to serve both as a water feature and a source for their geothermal heating. David and Freda were delighted with Mike Galbraith’s drawing. “We fell in love with it immediately,” says David. “All we made were a few minor changes to reduce costs – he’d included a couple of curved windows and the cost was horrific, so we changed them to straight.” As feared, getting planning permission
proved a huge problem. “We bought the site in 2006 and applied for planning permission in the spring of 2007, once the plans were drawn up,” explains David. “There was no objection to the house as such – the problem was the controversy at the time over whether this area would be turned into a national park, so our application sat in a drawer for 18 months. It was so frustrating. “In the end the locals decided they didn’t want a national park – there was so much
ABOVE: THE SIMPLE, MONOCHROME COLOUR SCHEME OF THE MAIN BEDROOM COMPLEMENTS THE GREY ALUMINIUM WINDOWS FRAMING THE VIEW OF THE IRISH SEA
© STEPHEN POTTS
ABOVE: DAVID AND FREDA ARE INTO “MODERNISM WITH COLOUR, NOT MINIMALISM”, AND FURNISHED THE HOUSE ACCORDINGLY
© STEPHEN POTTS
ABOVE: THE MOBALPA KITCHEN, INCLUDING TAPS, CAME FROM THE BANBRIDGE KITCHEN CENTRE IN N. IRELAND AND FEATURES A WORK SURFACE MADE FROM A COMPOSITE CALLED STONE ITALIANA, SUPPLIED BY DAVID SCOTT TILES –
WWW.DAVIDSCOTTTILES.COM
selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.eu
...continued on page 11 9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68