T


he couple’s self-build adventures commenced in August 2021 when the couple purchased a bungalow in the coastal town of Anstruther in Fife. “Covid made us realise we could live somewhere other than London,” David recalls. The couple had been thinking about retiring and while they loved the sea, had already discounted Cornwall or Devon as being too touristy. “We have friends who live in Cellardyke, and we’d been coming up here a couple of times a year for about 10 years; we thought why not buy a house by the sea?” owever, finding a home by the sea wasnt as straightforward as David and Suzanne anticipated. In 2021 David did a motorbike recce around the Fife coastline and quickly realised that there weren’t that many properties by the sea or that fitted their wish list, which included having some sort of garden. “I think we always thought wed buy an old fishermans cottage but as we started viewing them, we realised that they’re located right on the street with no parking and no garden,” Suzanne remembers. “They also have very beautiful, thick walls, small rooms, crazy staircases and limited


60 www.sbhonline.co.uk


scope to renovate.” Limited scope wasn’t what this couple were looking for, they wanted a project and when a traditional-style, 60s bungalow came on the market in Anstruther it seemed to tick all the boxes. David and Suzanne sent friends to have a look and the feedback was that it was all about the view. The couple didn’t see their new home in the flesh until after they had purchased it. t was clear from the outset that we had bought a view with a not very attractive little bungalow attached to it. However, we thought it had the potential to be a beautiful house with a view,” says Suzanne. Before the ugly duckling could become a swan, there was a lot of dirty work to be done. Initially the couple had thought they would stay in London while the renovations were carried out, but the excitement proved too much, and they moved into a rental property across the road from their new home. In December 2022 the builders moved in.


The couple had interviewed a couple of builders and settled with Robert Moncrieff of RM Contractors. “We just really liked him,” says


HIGH POINT


“I think the overall look externally is much better than I thought it would be. The house didn’t have a very attractive exterior when we bought it and I’m surprised how differ- ent it actually looks now. I also think it was the peo- ple we worked with that made the experience; it was good to spend time with them and see how they work.” – David Dines


“Now that it’s complete it’s transformed the way we live. It’s an entire change of life, of rhythm and different priorities.” – Suzanne Tyler


sep/oct 2024


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