Step inside this perfectly pitched stone cottage in the Scottish Highlands

One of the trickiest branches of contemporary architecture is not the building of brand new structures, but the repurposing of old ones with tactful yet future-forward solutions. It’s a challenge Scottish architecture studio Loader Monteith specialises in, thanks to a dedicated team of conservation architects - and their newly reimagined stone cottage is a case in point.

Tour a reimagined stone cottage in the Scottish Highlands

Founded in 2016 by architects Matt Loader and Iain Monteith, the Glasgow-based practice is known for past projects including the restoration of a midcentury home in the Scottish Borders designed by modernist master Peter Womersley. It is currently collaborating with David Chipperfield Architects on the refurbishment of Edinburgh’s landmark Jenners department store.

One of the practice’s latest designs is Dulnaim, the transformation of a dilapidated Scottish crofthouse, set on the outskirts of a picturesque village near Inverness in the Highlands. Rebuilt and extended, the riverside cottage is now a 130 sq m, three-bedroom contemporary home.

Its new profiled metal roof was chosen for its prevalence throughout this part of Scotland, its affordability, and the fact that it can be recycled at the end of its life. It covers two beautifully contrasting volumes, one with a reclaimed stone façade, and the other clad in blackened larch.

The stone wing houses three bedrooms and a bathroom, featuring smaller windows for privacy and thermal efficiency, while the timber-clad wing, comprising the living space, dining room and kitchen, boasts floor-to-ceiling glazing. Built on a plinth to mitigate flooding, Dulnain is ideally positioned to offer uninterrupted views across Dava Moor, over the fields to the Cairngorms beyond.

‘The structure of the house is timber kit, and the external leaf is formed in granite recycled from an historic house which was in a ruinous state of repair on site when we were appointed,’ explains Loader. ‘This, along with the Scots Larch timber cladding, was selected due to its very low embodied energy – having been sourced exceptionally locally.’

The sustainably built home performs well above the backstop values of the building regulations. But it is the choice of materials that really makes it stand out, says Loader: ‘While the house has a heat pump and very high levels of insulation, the thing which sets Dulnain apart is the thoughtful selection of materials – both reclaimed and new all being selected with the intent that they can be consumed by microbes, or recycled, at the end of their working life.’

Focusing on the essentials and featuring lots of natural materials, the interiors are modest but warm, with brushed oak flooring, light walls and tiles, and a pale grey-blue and timber kitchen. They form a neutral background to the surrounding garden, accessed through sliding glass doors.

‘Our clients wanted a home that was easy to live in and connected to the landscape,’ says Jamie Mack, project architect, of the original brief. ‘The design evolved naturally through collaboration, from the layout of the twin wings to the tone of the roof, making for a house that feels exactly right.’

loadermonteith.co.uk