Delightful living
David and Laura Thomson’s new family home on the banks of the River Dee has been a long time coming, but the results have been well worth the wait
WORDS CAROLINE EDNIE PHOTOS DAVID BARBOUR
David and Laura’s home is a one-and-three-quarter height building, presenting an external palette of Western Red Cedar cladding and crisp white Sto render
THE THOMSON FILE
NAMES David & Laura Thomson
OCCUPATIONS Structural steelwork designer & hairdresser
LOCATION Aberdeenshire
TYPE OF BUILD Self build
STYLE Contemporary
CONSTRUCTION METHOD Timber frame
PLOT SIZE 1,375m²
HOUSE SIZE 254m²
PROJECT COST £402,000
PROJECT COST PER M2 £1,583
BUILDING WORK COMMENCED January 2013
BUILDING WORK TOOK 30 weeks
CURRENT VALUE £1,000,000
The open-plan living area offers panoramic views thanks to lots of glazing
David and Laura Thomson’s new self build home is positioned within a mile-long stretch of land that’s belonged to their family for many years. This particular spot was once home to a 1950s bungalow, which they used to rent out as a handy extra income stream. Some years back, they had an idea to abandon the bungalow and replace it with a bed and breakfast for fishermen on the adjacent River Dee, but this proposal was later abandoned. In more recent times, the couple explored the thought of designing a traditional house using vernacular materials, but this was put on the back burner, too.
It was a chance meeting with local architect Eoghain Fiddes that proved to be the turning point for finally getting a self build project offthe ground. At the time, in 2011, the Thomsons were living just 800 yards from the bungalow and had again been mulling over the idea of a new family home. “I bumped into Eoghain and discovered that he’d just returned from Glasgow to start up his own firm,” says David. “So I told him that my project could be his first job.”