dream – creating a stand-alone, alpine chalet in the former paddock.
The couple contacted their architect, Ray Cherry, a couple of years before they started the build – as he had already worked on the plans for their shop. However, at that point he was too busy, and they weren’t ready financially. “When we were ready, Ray was still super busy, but as he’d already been to the site, met us and knew how we lived he agreed after a brief chat on the phone to send us a quick sketch.” He emailed it over, and “that was it,” says Christa – “he’d completely understood what we were looking for. He basically drew what was in my head – a luxury bothy [mountain shelter].”
While planning was straightforward, it still took a year to come through and was granted under the ‘rural tourism’ umbrella which means that the chalet can only be sold along with the house, not as a separate entity.
“It took a year to build, and we finished it in May 2019. We’re very, very happy with it. When you’ve been dreaming about something for so long, it’s quite nerve wracking when you come to do it, in case it doesn’t live up to expectations.
FLEXIBLE TO CHALLENGES
The relatively simple layout is designed for couples who want to escape – one bedroom, a large bathroom, a cosy seating area, and a kitchen. However, despite its simplicity, Christa and Del soon realised that their budget wasn’t
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going to go very far.
“We had a budget, but it was a bit optimistic. It was very carefully researched over several months and I completely and utterly believed in it, but I underestimated things like the price of screws and how many we’d need – and that was crazy money,” says Christa. “The price of insulation went through the roof because of a fire in Germany. The insulation company had to ramp up their production in different parts of the factory, which meant their machines broke because they were working too hard, and the price went up by about a third. And then waiting time went up too; it was things we couldn’t plan for.”
Fortunately, the couple’s builder, John Elliott from Newcastleton, was flexible in his approach, which eased the pressure on the budget; he had already worked with the couple on their own house. “We had them do the important, difficult bits such as the foundations, drainage, the timber frame, basically any big tasks that required significant machinery.”
When they realised their budget wasn’t going to extend to the builder taking on everything, “Del and I rolled up our sleeves and did what we could, when we could.” She adds: “John was great; it was a case of ‘there’s plenty here you can do yourselves but I’m here when you need me.’ It’s a difficult way to do a project but it’s a lovely thing to do as well.”
With hindsight, Christa can look back fondly on the build, but she explains that in the thick of
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