The world is certainly your oyster when it comes to interiors and that’s the spirit in which Tavis Potts and his wife Cara have approached their home decor.
From Asia and Africa to the Middle East and China, the couple’s love of travel is reflected in every corner of their vibrant Newburgh home.
Here Tavis tells us all about his beautiful home and their DIY journey.
9 Lea Cottages
Who: Tavis Potts, a professor in geography at the University of Aberdeen, his wife Cara, a self-employed doula and massage therapist, their 12-year-old son Ossian Robertson-Potts plus their adorable labrador Ruby, Charlie the goldfish, Toothless the Axolotl and Hopper the frog.
What: An end terraced, three bedroom house with a lounge and kitchen, bathroom and landing area.
Where: In Newburgh overlooking the Ythan estuary.
As told to Rosemary Lowne
“We had been renters in a lovely country estate in Tertowie (near Westhill) where we had access to gardens and a lovely rural setting. However, we wanted to our own home and to stop paying rent.
We found this property online and we were attracted to the view of the estuary and the sizes of the room. Our master bedroom and the kitchen have spectacular views over the sea, including spectacular sunrises.
It’s a beautiful place to live and it’s amazing to see nature every day as there’s always something happening from seals and seabirds to sand dunes.
We purchased our home in March 2020 and moved in three months later in June.
When we moved in, not much had been done, it was a very basic blank canvass.
Cara, as the creative, was very eager to get started on the property adding bold colours and fabulous wallpapers.
We also built a fence in the backyard and added a garden shed and gardens.
Over the past four years, we’ve done a lot to the property.
We’ve replaced the bathroom, replaced the front and back doors, completed some roof renovations and replaced all the windows.
In terms of interiors, our personalities and interests very much influence each room in the house.
For example, Cara is inspired by African cultures, colours and animals and we drew upon this heavily in the lounge where Cara used Valspar paint, a safari wallpaper from B&Q and our sofa is from French Connection.
We also practice martial arts and love Japanese culture, so the hallway has a beautiful Japanese theme with cherry blossoms and our practice weapons.
Our kitchen is a clash of colours using inspiration from the music we love as well as Star Wars and Chinese teas.
The master bedroom is inspired by ancient Egypt and middle eastern design.
We’ve got a very international house, picking up things we like from many different places.
We’ve picked up lovely sculptures, wall hangings and statuettes from our travels while we also have gifts from friends who’ve travelled and treasures from charity shops.
We’ll often see something in town and add it to one of our themed rooms which could be almost anything.
Our biggest challenge was choosing between the aesthetics like a new kitchen or the practicalities like new windows.
We couldn’t do both in the same year so we went for the windows to be more energy efficient and warmer.
There is always something more that we want to do but you’re limited by time and money.
We would’ve liked to put in a WC downstairs and if we were planning to stay we would have gone ahead with this.
We would also love to add a wood burning stove for that final touch.
The thing we love the most about our home is living by the sea, the open views across the horizon and the dunes and the wildlife we see every day.
We also love the living space in this house, with its high ceilings and large rooms.
It feels really solid and well made, with great living spaces – it’s a wonderful family home with so much potential and it’s such a relaxing space.
My advice to anyone else undergoing a similar renovation would be that these older houses are real gems as they are very well made from very solid building stock, they’re very affordable and there is a lot you can do if you have the vision.
Our property has also offered the best of both worlds as we’re close and accessible to town but we have the sea on our doorstep, amazing beaches and a number of local places to eat.
We love this house, but for us we are ready to upsize a little and potentially own some land.”
9 Lea Cottages, Main Street, Newburgh, Ellon, is on the market for offers over £175,000.
To arrange a viewing contact Aberdein Considine on 01358 721893 or check out the website aspc.co.uk
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