Bill and Sukie Barber had no intention of doing another self build, but when the perfect site came up they couldn’t resist

WORDS NICHOLA HUNTER

PHOTOS DOUGLAS GIBB

FACT FILE

NAMES Bill & Sukie Barber

OCCUPATIONS Owners of Unusually Good Food, which offers cookery experiences & charity fundraisers

LOCATION Scottish Borders

TYPE OF PROJECT Self build

STYLE Contemporary

CONSTRUCTION METHOD Traditional post & beam

PROJECT ROUTE Employed building company for construction & homeowner project managed

ORIGINAL PROPERTY COST £355,000 (for smallholding, incl. existing house and land)

BOUGHT June 2013

HOUSE SIZE 85m²

PROJECT COST £171,500

PROJECT COST PER M2 £2,018

TOTAL COST £526,500

BUILDING WORK COMMENCED September 2017

BUILDING WORK TOOK 30 weeks

CURRENT VALUE £200,000

Bill and Sukie Barber spent 25 years in Highland hospitality, first developing a multi award-winning restaurant with bedrooms (called Old Pines). The couple’s next venture offered self-catering accommodation on a small farm in Strontian, on the Ardnamurchan peninsular. It was here that the couple built a family home, plus two adjoining self-catering houses, transforming the land into a productive croft.

They were semi-retired when they discovered a smallholding for sale in 2013. “We wanted to continue what we’d started in the Highlands, which was growing our own food. We were also keen to find a spot where our Jersey cow, Daisy, would be happy,” says Sukie. “When we saw it, we were sold. It was incredibly quiet. Rural but not remote, with sheltering trees and the rolling Borders hills.”

Unexpected opportunity

After selling their business in the Highlands and purchasing their new house, the Barbers found that they still had some money left over. “After we’d settled in, we realised we had a beautiful site at the bottom of the croft that was just made for a cottage,” says Sukie. “While we hadn’t intended to do a self-catering business again, it was a relatively easy way for a new income if we could afford the build.” The pair also recognised that going down this route would offer additional accommodation for when their large family came to stay.