Who: Joy Allison and her husband Jim.
What: An extensively renovated detached bungalow.
Where: 8 Station Road East, Peterculter.
Here’s what Joy had to say about their renovation journey…
“When all of our children had left home we decided to downsize to Peterculter where two of the children stayed.
Funnily enough, we had often walked by this beautiful bungalow and I always said I would buy it if it came up for sale and lucky for us it did.
It is in a beautiful setting next to the old Deeside Railway line and next to ‘Lover’s Walk’ which is a peaceful walk along the river just past the Heritage Hall.
Peterculter home is full of personality and pizzazz…
When we first viewed the property, we loved the large front living room which has a beautiful bay window.
We were also impressed by the very large kitchen which we knew would be great for family entertaining.
The property also has a large hallway and four double bedrooms plus an ensuite shower room and a cloakroom toilet.
The large double garage was also a big draw and the large driveway.
Couple’s son became their architect when they upgraded the Peterculter home
When we moved in, we did need to upgrade the house so we decided to employ our son Craig who is a chartered architect with 57North Architecture.
His suggestions were to fully insulate the floors in the living room, kitchen and large hallway.
We installed a new condensing boiler and also decided on water underfloor heating instead of radiators to give an even heat in the living areas.
The work also included upgrading the electric wiring and replacing the radiators in the bedrooms and inner hall.
‘Our renovation was a big project’
It was a big project so we decided to upgrade the bathrooms first.
I wanted the bathrooms to look less utility so we picked unusual yet stylish sinks from an online company and created a stylish modern ensuite wet room which has VitrA sanitaryware and black taps with the shower.
A large rectangular sink was installed in the cloakroom toilet in the hall to create the same look.
Although the house was on semi open plan when we bought it we decided to fully open the hallway to the living room and kitchen and install a door to the bedroom accommodation for privacy.
Inspired by the TV show Grand Designs…
We realised that the kitchen needed upgrading and decided to install a new white matt kitchen with integrated appliances.
It was while watching the TV programme Grand Designs that I came up with the idea to hide the kitchen sink behind cupboards to minimise the clutter.
In the kitchen, we also installed a Neff dishwasher, washing machine, and integrated fridge and freezers.
On the other side we have a white sparkly quartz worktop and a rectangular Neff induction hob with an overhead extractor.
And the garden has the ‘wow’ factor…
Our kitchen planner suggested an island or breakfast bar but we decided to have a large glass kitchen table to accommodate our six Panton chairs.
We find it is so sociable and friendly when the family and grandchildren visit.
In the bathroom, we created a tiled wall and the same tiles have been used in the hall and kitchen walls and outside patio walls.
As the garden is so beautiful, we decided to install Nordan sliding doors and windows so the view and access to the garden was not restricted.
So we’ve enjoyed many sociable occasions both inside and outside on the patio.
In terms of location, Peterculter has a lovely village feel to it so we have been very happy here.
There’s also a large amount of shops, bars and restaurants plus there’s lots of different events throughout the year including the Culter Gala and ‘duck race’ plus the flower show.
The fact that Peterculter has won the village in bloom award several times just goes to show what a lovely place it is to live.
Our advice for anyone else undertaking a project is to speak to an architect first to find out what you can or can’t do and then listen to their ideas – it’s worth it.”
8 Station Road East, Peterculter, is on the market for offers over £415,000.
To arrange a viewing contact Andersonbain on 01224 456789 or check out the website aspc.co.uk
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