Having spent 20 years in the house improvement industry doing up other people’s homes, Gary Morrison decided he would use his skills to build his own home.
Along with his wife, Rhonda, they created a lovely home in Newburgh for their two sons, Lee, now 24, and Scott, 21.
It also gave him the inspiration to start his own home-improvements company, Home Quest.
After a year, they decided to build another house – this time in Ellon, where Gary was born and bred.
But a chance to fulfil a childhood dream meant the family would move again nine years later to their current home, Craigieden, Craigs Road, Ellon.
“I used to always look at these big houses in Craigs Road and I always said if I could live there I would,” said Gary, 52.
“Houses in this road rarely come on the market. I think it’s probably every 10 years that one does, so we decided we would just go for it.
“Because our first two houses were quite modern, we were both looking for a bigger granite property.”
Craigieden is an impressive Victorian villa, set in an acre of mature sheltered landscaped gardens.
A sweeping driveway leads you from Craigs Road – the most desirable address in Ellon – to the elegant pink granite property, which dates from the early 1900s.
The house itself has been beautifully restored with many of its period features still visible.
Features of note include new heritage sliding sash and case windows, a new kitchen by Laings and new bathrooms throughout, surround sound and visual entertainment system and extensive landscape works in the garden.
The house is definitely impressive, but it didn’t always look like this.
Gary and Rhonda have spent a lot of time and money transforming the house into the elegant home it is now.
“When we bought it, it had a very 1980s/90s feel to it; it was quite modern,” said Gary.
“The decor didn’t really fit in with the house itself. We wanted to bring it back to what it would have looked like originally.”
“I’ve enjoyed doing up all our houses, whether its a modern and sleek look or the older traditional look,” Rhonda added.
While the house – on the market for offers over £815,000 – had seven bedrooms originally, the Morrisons decided to transform one into a study and a further two into their grand master suite – which includes a dressing area and an amazing bathroom with a very special feature.
Rhonda said: “It has a double Jacuzzi bath with two pillows and a TV.
“The bathroom is probably my favourite; it was my dream purchase. It’s definitely a Friday night or Saturday night special.
“You can relax with a glass of wine and watch the TV. You have to turn the volume up to hear it over the bubbles.”
Another great feature of the house is the garden that surrounds it. Several social areas, including floor-lit extensive decking, paved terraces and a summer house/bar are dotted around the lawn.
A woodland path leads you through a lovely array of mature trees, adding to the magic and privacy of this wonderful garden area.
“One of things I love about this house is, although you are in Ellon, because of the garden, it feels like you are in the middle of the country,” Gary said.
“It’s so secluded you don’t hear the traffic at all. But at the same time, you have all Ellon’s amenities on your doorstep. I can be at the golf course in 10 minutes.”
Now, as the couple’s eldest son gets ready to move to Glasgow, while the other spends most of his time offshore, they have decided to put their house on the market and divide their equity, allowing them to buy a new house as well as a holiday home.
“Very often it’s just the two of us in this big house,” Rhonda added.
“I think I will miss the house as a whole the most,” Gary said.
“It’s been a great place to live.”
Contact: Strutt & Parker on 01330 826800.