At Clechden Mill, it’s not only the sisters that are doing it for themselves – it’s a family affair.
The Widdowson family worked together tirelessly, with dad Nigel and daughter Josephine at the forefront, for two years to convert an old mill into a beautiful and stylish family home.
For 25 years Clechden has been their home, with them living in the site’s farmhouse for the first 19 years.
Previously they ran a farm in Nottingham before decided to pack up and go on an adventure to find a new home.
Mum Linda, 49, who works as a civil servant, said: “We just wanted a complete change so we put everything in storage and went touring around the country.
“We bought a caravan and took our two children, two dogs and a cat with us.
“We just went around until we found a place where we wanted to settle.”
Other points on their checklist included somewhere near the coast and opportunities to develop – so, when they came across Clechden, they knew it ticked all the boxes.
Clechden is nestled in the Banffshire countryside in Gamrie and features a three-bedroom detached farmhouse and a four-bedroom converted mill.
Nigel, 49, who is a self-employed contractor, said they had never heard of Banffshire before they discovered it.
“That’s the benefit of touring, you uncover places you’d never normally go,” he said.
“We were looking for somewhere that we could develop and then we came across this place. It was great because one of the houses was ready to move into and we still had the mill to develop later.
“At the time the mill was an agricultural building – just a tin roof and stone walls, that was it.”
Nigel and Linda, along with daughters Alexandra, 26, Josephine, 25, and son Callum, 22 – who was born after the family’s move – spent many happy years in the farmhouse.
But as the kids got older, they decided it was time to create a new home.
“The first house was getting too small for five adults, it was OK when it was two adults and three children,” Nigel said.
“So I decided now was the time to get on with it.
“My daughter Josephine had left school and wanted to go to university. But when I told her I was going to take on the project of converting the mill, she decided to put off uni and help me.
“We did it all ourselves, with the help of family and friends.”
While Nigel and Josephine treated it as a full-time job, working Monday to Friday and taking weekends off, the rest of the family did their fair share in evenings and at weekends.
“I even took a month off work to help slate the roof, I loved it,” said Linda.
“It gave us huge job satisfaction and there was a lot of financial saving in doing it ourselves,” Nigel said.
“It wasn’t a stressful process, mostly because we had total control of the project and the money.
“After we finished, we started getting asked by other people who knew what we had done to do extensions for them.”
Walking through the finished product, it’s clear that the Widdowson family have put a lot of work into this unique family home.
With large bedrooms with en-suite facilities at either end of the building, it is the core of the home that takes centre-stage.
A large spacious kitchen invites you into the home, with its vaulted ceilings, central island and breakfast bar particularly impressive.
French doors lead you into the cosy living room, where a woodburning stove creates a lovely focal point.
The master bedroom suite is sure to impress with its large dressing room – a dream for most women – and an en-suite shower room.
Reminders of this lovely home’s character and history are dotted around, including exposed stone walls in the kitchen and hallway as well as the original beams.
Nigel explained that the design was “very much dictated by the footprint that was already here”.
He added: “We just made sure there was a nice flow through the house. We decided to put the bedrooms at either end of the house with the core elements in the centre.
“We also wanted to make sure the house had lots of light. That’s why we kept the large original windows.
“It’s been nice living in a home that is unique. We decided to keep some of the original features including the exposed beams and stone walls because that gives the house character.
“There would have been no point developing it if we had decided to replace it all. It’s great to know that we created this. It’s a nice feeling.”
Now, with their children having flown the nest, Nigel and Linda have decided to start all over again – although this time they already know their location.
“We definitely want to stay in the north-east area,” Nigel said.
“With the mill, I liked having the flexibility and developing the building to how we wanted it to be. I think when you buy a new home, it’s never exactly what you wanted.
“I really enjoyed the whole process – so much so that we want to do it again, this time from scratch.”
So they have decided to put the mill and the farmhouse on the market – the former for offers over £299,000 and the latter for £199,000. The houses can be bought together or as separate lots.
While the houses would make great family homes with space for extra visitors or more permanent guests, they would also be a fantastic business opportunity including holiday lets or rentals.
So what will they miss the most about the house their family made?
“I’ll definitely miss the kitchen,” Linda said.
“It’s got so much space. I can spread everything all over the place when I am baking.
“We’ve got lots of memories here too. Alexandra got married from here, which was nice. I’m glad we got it done before she got married. It was great because we were able to fit all our family in for it. There’s so much space.”
“We will definitely miss the space,” Nigel added.
“We are planning on making the next one smaller but you do get used to it. At the moment we have two wings that we hardly use apart from when the children come to visit. We spend all our time in the middle section. If we were able to take the middle section somewhere else that would be great.”
Contact: Aberdein Considine on 01779 475365.