Star is one of Fife’s most charming and popular villages.
Sandwiched in rolling countryside between Markinch and Kennoway, it has its own primary school, village hall, park and football ground. Star Moss and Carriston Reservoirs are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and many houses have views over the Lomond Hills.
With a population of around 400 it’s small enough that everyone knows one another. The popular annual gala and flower show both draw the community together.
Sitting at the west end of Star, Tor Fala backs onto farmland and enjoys beautiful sunsets across East and West Lomond. In addition to the four-bedroom main house it also has a separate two bedroom cottage.
It sits on a gently sloping site and a set of paved steps lead up to the front door which is under a covered overhang.
Tor Fala is owned by Mark Allen, who bought the house in the summer of 2016. He didn’t relocate from very far away. “I’d lived just across the road in Meadowview since 2007,” he says. “Star is one of those places that once you’re here it’s hard to move away from.”
Mark, 50, was born in Buckhaven but grew up in London and worked as a commodities broker in the city and latterly in Dubai.
“I knew I had to get out of London and I wanted to move back to Scotland,” he says. “I was speaking to an old friend in Leven and he said Star is where you have to be. It’s a lovely village.”
Giving up his job as a broker, Mark set up Scotstar Resin, which provides resin-bound driveways and floors for residential and commercial properties.
Modernising
After getting the keys to Tor Fala, Mark set about renovating, overhauling and modernising the two-storey villa, which dates from the early 1990s.
“There’s only one bathroom that is the same as it was when I moved in,” he says. “Every other room has been renewed or remodelled.”
While the large conservatory at the rear of the house offered fantastic views Mark found it was too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. He switched the polycarbonate roof for an insulated, tiled roof. This transformed it into a sunroom that is used all year round.
He stripped out the old kitchen and replaced it with a high quality, bespoke modern kitchen. This high-spec room has Neff appliances, an induction hob and two ovens. The central island and integrated dining table are made of quartz.
A huge downstairs bathroom was cut in half and the new space turned into a sauna that’s perfect for unwinding in after a long day at work.
A ground floor bedroom has been transformed into a home gym. Meanwhile, a sitting room has a glazed sliding door that can make it semi-open plan to the sunroom.
The master bedroom is on the ground floor and has its own en suite with walk-in shower and bathtub. Mark’s company fitted the bathroom’s resin floor, which is a beautiful swirl of copper colours.
Another double bedroom is also at ground level and there’s a large utility room.
An oak staircase with glass balustrade leads up to first floor level. Up here are two more double bedrooms – both of which have combination locks to give Mark’s two boys more privacy.
One of the bedrooms has a spacious en suite shower room while the other has access to a family bathroom with double-size bath and shower.
Cinema room
What was once another bedroom has been transformed into one of Mark’s favourite rooms.
“This room really wasn’t doing anything,” he says. “I didn’t need another bedroom – there’s already plenty of those – so I decided to turn it into a cinema room.”
A projector and screen descend from the ceiling at the touch of a button. Speakers are neatly recessed into the walls. Two large Velux windows are fitted with blackout blinds that let you focus on the film. A black panel in the ceiling has tiny LEDs that twinkle like the night sky.
In the hallway outside the cinema room is a small bar area with drinks fridge, making it easy to grab mid-movie refreshments.
“I spend quite a lot of time up here watching TV and films,” Mark continues. “When friends are over I often find everyone gravitates to this room.”
Tor Fala has large gardens to the front and to the rear which get the sun all day long. A covered patio to the front and a seating area to the rear enjoy a westerly outlook over the Lomond Hills. In other directions are views over farmland, hills and the football pitch used by Star Hearts.
Home office and cottage
Beside the driveway Mark built a large, insulated home office with power and light that is an ideal place for working from home.
He also added an electric sliding gate to the driveway for added privacy and security.
The roof at Tor Fala has 16 solar panels which provide plenty of electricity through the spring and summer months and allow Mark to charge his Tesla virtually for free.
Perhaps the biggest change Mark made was converting the garage. It is now a two-bedroom cottage which is lived in by his parents.
It has an open plan kitchen/living dining room, a bedroom with en suite shower room, a second bedroom, another shower room and a utility room.
“The original owner was a big stock car fan so the garage was enormous,” Mark explains. “It was easy to turn it into a nice two bedroom home.
“It’s super insulated and energy efficient. My parents are very happy there so they’re no doubt going to grumble when we move…”
With his children going to school in Dundee, Mark wants to move closer to the city to be closer to them.
“This house has been fantastic and I’ll be sad to leave but it’s far too big for me now that I’m on my own,” he says. “Star is a wonderful little village and I’ll miss living here.”
Tor Fala, Star, Glenrothes is on sale with Savills for offers over £625,000
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