Three old cottages in the countryside near Monifieth have been transformed into stunning homes.
Vaulted ceilings, wood burning stoves and lantern rooflights are among their many wonderful features.
The cottages are in Carlungie, a tiny hamlet down a quiet no-through road in the Angus countryside. It’s only a few hundred metres from the A92 and Monifieth is just a five minute drive away.
Property developer Jennifer Olivier bought the three cottages towards the end of last year. She works with her father John Shaw and her business partner Goska Kidd to rescue old buildings, mainly in Tayside.
When they bought the cottages they were in a run-down state. Jennifer, Goska and their teams of tradesmen set about a major programme of works.
Extending
Dundee architect Jon Frullani drew up plans to extend and reconfigure all three homes. Each property was stripped back to its bare walls, insulated, rewired and re-plumbed.
“We wanted to convert them all from two to three bedroom cottages,” Jennifer explains. “We added one extension onto each of the semi-detached properties and two extensions onto the detached cottage.”
The extensions added extra bedroom space. Meanwhile, roof lanterns in the open plan living/dining/kitchen spaces throw in lots of natural light and provide a focal point.
Jennifer has a good eye for interior design and the attention to detail is superb. It’s clear no expense has been spared in doing up the cottages.
“It would have been cheaper to knock them down and build kit homes on the site,” Jennifer explains. “But I would hate to do that. It would be a shame to lose all that history.
Preserving the past
“When we were renovating them we discovered that one of our joiners’ dad used to live in one of the cottages so we named it after their family name. Another person who used to live there saw the project on Instagram and wanted to come for a look around. Things like that make you realise you’re preserving a piece of heritage.”
One of the cottages sold off market, with the two remaining properties being sold through Broughty Ferry estate agent Verdala.
“Someone Goska knows asked if they could see them before they went on the market,” Jennifer says. They put in a good offer so we sold one of them to them.”
Jennifer, 47, is currently renovating a four-bedroom house on Balgillo Road in Dundee and two cottages in Barry, by Carnoustie.
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years now,” she says. “But I still get scared every time. I have a vision for how each property can look but I always think, what if it doesn’t live up to that vision? What if I mess it up?
“So far it’s going well though.”
The Shieling is on sale with Verdala for o/o £300,000. West Findlay is also on sale with Verdala for o/o £250,000. An open day is being held for both remaining cottages on Saturday October 7 from 10am-12pm.
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