Who: Alice Veersema, a nurse in the intensive care unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, her husband Adam, a land surveyor with Adaptive Surveys, and their two children aged 13 and 11.
What: A detached, four-bedroom period property.
Where: Methlick, a small village about nine miles north-west of Ellon.
Here is what Alice says about their renovation journey...
“I grew up in the area but I worked out in Australia which is where I met Adam.
I had been homesick for a while and always used to look at ASPC and dream about coming home one day and finding the perfect house.
When we did move here, we rented a lovely little estate cottage but we had outgrown it.
It was at one of our first nights out with the cricket club at the Ythanview Hotel when we got chatting to fellow team members.
It just so happened that one of them lived in Jenny Hinty Cottage, and they had to listen to me go on about how much I loved their house.
So I asked them to let me know if they ever decided to sell their house.
Jenny Hinty Cottage was meant to be…
Lo and behold, we got a phone call about six months later asking if we were serious or if it was just the beer talking.
When we viewed the property, we just loved everything about it including the flexibility it offered, and all the features like the exposed granite walls and the annex room.
So we purchased the house in early 2019.
It had been recently renovated with new windows and doors, therefore we haven’t had to do any major work.
What we have done is some landscaping to make the garden a bit more user friendly, and adapted the decoration to a lighter, more natural look.
‘Our home is at the heart of the community’
The property has an interesting history, as like many of the houses on the main street, it was at one point part of the local high street.
Most people remember it as being one of the two banks in Methlick.
Since we have lived in it, most people know it as a place where they can pop in to use the loo or grab a coffee through the kitchen window if there is a village event on.
What’s great about the house is that the layout is flexible and the rooms can be adapted to suit your lifestyle.
We have had it set up as both a four and five-bedroom house and have changed how we use the space as the children have become older.
Stripping back the house to its natural beauty…
In terms of interiors, a lot of the wood detailing had older style dark varnish so we have stripped a lot of it back to its natural wood and changed to lighter carpets to make the most of the light in the house.
We had planned to do a complete redecoration, but with growing and messy children it seemed pointless.
In terms of location, Methlick has everything you need for day-to-day life including a village school, shops and a super pub at the Ythanview Hotel.
It has a lovely mixture of old and new, and there are so many groups running in the village so you are never lost for company or something to do.
Fans of cricket will be bowled over by this home…
Most importantly for us, the house overlooks the cricket pitch.
In summer, the cricket pitch becomes an extension of our garden with both Adam and the kids regularly playing cricket for Methlick Cricket Club.
For me it means I can easily keep an eye on the progress of a game from the window and know when to expect everyone home and in what sort of mood.
Overall, Jenny Hinty is a special house in the village.
You have the best of both worlds in that you can be visible and active in the community, or as private as you want.
Because of how the houses are sited, you have the benefit of being in the body of the village, but also have privacy because of the way the garden and yard space is behind the house away from sight.
‘We highly recommend village life’
The house has been at the centre of many gatherings; mass coffee-cup filling before school sports day, the home for village children wanting to use the slip and slide in the summer, a pre-drinks venue before events at the Beaton Hall and somewhere to warm up after sledging on the cricket pitch.
The whole family has loved living here and being part of the community, and we will miss chatting to everyone.
Sometimes we think we are bonkers for moving, but the time has come for our next adventure as we are renovating an old farm cottage with a bit of land.
I can highly recommend village life for anyone looking to be part of a community.”
Jenny Hinty Cottage, Methlick, Ellon, is currently under offer after being on the market for offers over £340,000.
To arrange a viewing contact Raeburn Christie Clark and Wallace on 01358 720777 or check out the website aspc.co.uk
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