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My name is Amelia, I live in London with my husband and two teenage children. I am Scottish, and have had a home in the highlands for many years, where the children and I spend all our school holidays along with my extended family.
Our extended family is growing, so we were looking to find a space which could hold large groups without feeling anonymous or like a bed and breakfast! We needed lots of bedrooms and social spaces, but also little breakout areas so people could read or work and have some personal space. Moving forward, we expect this new home to become our main residence, so we were looking for a ‘home’ rather than a ‘house'.
From the very start of the process, Andrew fuelled our imaginations and took us on the most unexpected build journey. We had been planning a traditional barn conversion worked around a courtyard, and Andrew’s extraordinary plinth design blew us away. From that moment on, we felt incredibly excited about what we were doing, as we were doing something challenging and new. Andrew held our hand throughout the process, shielding us from drama but always keeping us informed! Much of our build took place during the Covid pandemic where we were unable to visit - being able to trust in Andrew 110% was invaluable. The project has exceeded our expectations in every way.
Yes and no! Just like on TV, things go wrong - we had a mini-landslide which could have brought down the original house. However, unlike on TV, our talented architect and builder didn’t turn it into a drama and simply came up with an urgent and perfect solution.
The house feels perfect. The landscape changes so beautifully with the seasons, and the house feels like it belongs there. All the windows allow us to enjoy the changing seasons and watch the weather as it rolls across the valley. It really is a space to recharge and relax, exactly as we’d hoped.
One silver lining of not being allowed to visit the site during Covid, was that when we finally got on site, we had a ‘grand reveal’ moment. Driving up to the house for the first time and seeing the building with all the glass was very emotional.
I found dealing with the bathrooms and kitchen companies difficult - they did not offer us as much help as Brown & Brown did during the design process.
Absolutely. When I see new buildings and designs on Brown & Brown’s instagram, I feel almost jealous of the excitement the other clients must be experiencing! The build has been a huge part of our lives for the last few years, and we have greatly enjoyed the experience.
