Tag: isle of skye

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Using the time wisely

As the weeks move on and progress inches along slowly, I try and keep my resolve strong and hold onto the dream by looking back at why we are doing this and using my time in active preparation for our new life.

Photos and videos that we’ve taken of the croft help me to reconnect. Endless lists and plans scribbled in notebooks also help. We are making progress, even if it seems painfully slow at this stage.

🍒We hope to have confirmed costs in this next week.

🍒The builder has visited the plot and is firming up initial estimates.

🍒We have a Quantity Surveyor appointed who is managing the activities around the build.

🍒We have the window and doors ordered, along with the request to start SIP panel production.

Yet somehow, until we break ground and I see something tangible, like the access road or the foundations for the house, it doesn’t seem real…

In the meantime, I re-read my books on bread making, jam making and crafts, all things that I hope to happily fill my time with once we are in our new home. I plan for years out when we have hedgerow fruits and can make blackberry wine!

I resist the temptation to peak too soon and buy demijohns, which we’d only have to cart a thousand miles to the island..

I create mood boards and source paint colours. I find floor tile and wood samples and try and decide remotely what will look best in the space and the light, balancing practicality with design.

We plan endless potential uses for the old barn on the croft. Book barn, accommodation, studio, willow weaving shed, brewery… I think we’re up to around 400 potential uses for it so far 😬. It’s become our family joke. I think it’s because it’s the only actual building on the land, however tumbledown. At least it’s real.

I think of my studio and all the things that I will create once I have the time and mental space to do so – canvases, textile works, sculptural objects, things with driftwood and beach finds. I’ve commissioned a weaving for the wall.

I dream about the croft. I think about how it will look once we have thousands of trees planted and birds and wildlife start to return to the land. I dream of those beautiful views across the sound, and the sheer magical peace of the place.

And I try and use the final months here in productive preparation. Organising the recovering of my bargain sofas for the house. Sourcing a local stone sculptor to make our house sign. Researching where we can find the cheapest scaffolding boards on the island. Thinking of buying a car suitable for the roads on Skye. Contacting the forestry commission and woodland trusts. Sourcing firewood. Registering the croft.

It’s coming, we tell ourselves. Hold on.

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A thousand things

It seems that there are always a thousand things to think about at any given point in a house build project.

At this precise moment we’re appointing a Quantity Surveyor to manage and oversee the build quotes, and get a more accurate projection of build costs for budget. We’re hoping to have costs through and an idea of possible build start dates in the next few weeks.

We’re also looking at flooring in more detail again. The bathrooms, entrance hall and utility room will all be tiled for practicality, and although I started off considering stone floors, the maintenance requirement for regular re-sealing has put me off a little, and I’m now thinking more of big, matt finish porcelain tiles.

Samples will be winging their way through the post over the next few weeks so that we can narrow down the selection.

In parallel, we’re waiting to hear whether the Forestry Commission managed to get out to the croft before Christmas as they were hoping to in order to survey the land from a tree planting perspective.

It all feels as if it’s on the very cusp of happening. Just a few inches further…☺️

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Building Warrant Approved

Building Warrant came through a few days before Christmas. It was a great start to the festivities!

This is what we are building. It’s a 1.5 storey larch clad eco longhouse with traditional slate roof.

The front door is actually at the back of the building, nestled into the hill at the back of the croft. The picture windows are at the front, overlooking the Sound of Sleat, and hopefully providing much light.

Once the architects are back after the Christmas break we’ll start looking at build schedules. Can’t wait!

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Christmas Mojo

As the days tick around to the final approach to Christmas, it’s been a slow burn this year in starting to feel the usual joy for the season.

This has been mainly down to health, having undergone a knee replacement operation a few weeks ago and now living the prospect of a long, slow slog back to pain-free existence. It’s been a tough few weeks.

I know that the operation was necessary to allow me to live a full, active life on the croft, and I embrace and am thankful for the opportunity to do that.

By now I’ve usually baked a Christmas cake, the Christmas pudding, put up a tree and am onto an annoying Spotify loop of Christmas carols. I haven’t felt like doing any of this so far this year.

As we enter the final few days before Christmas, I’ve rallied a bit. Tradition holds strong, and in the end I couldn’t envision a Christmas without some of these things.

So we’ve decorated the bay tree on the balcony, lit some candles, and bought presents. The fridge is full, and the annual charitable donations have been made. We’ve got new books to thumb through over the break in preparation for our new life, and each page promises new knowledge. Family arrives tomorrow, which is really what it’s all about.

This will be our last Christmas in London and we will make the best of it. Skye beckons next year, and we simply can’t wait, but every day is precious and living in the now is important. This year is about using our waiting time fruitfully, but it’s also about enjoying the company of family, and relaxing into the seasonal embrace of Christmas.

Wishing you all a warm, relaxed and happy festive break and a wonderful New Year, wherever you are reading this from.

Christmas Mojo is being wrestled back on as we speak 😘.

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Choices

IMG_3100.jpgI’ve been laid up for the last week recovering from a knee replacement operation. Before I had the operation I blithely imagined that I would be able to spend time researching and planning house options at leisure whilst comfortably resting my leg. Ha. The reality has been a little different, with the leg pain and the brain fog caused by the medication meaning that I’ve not been able to focus on anything much..

Because I won’t be able to get up to the kitchen design centre in Fife anytime soon, they’ve helpfully sent us samples of worktop and kitchen door fronts. The architects recommend Pronorm, a German kitchen manufacturer, and their range is extensive. It’s too much choice! We’re trying to keep it simple and the costs under control, which is a challenge. So far I’m looking at Silestone worktops with an under-mounted sink, an appliance wall, and two banks of under-unit storage with integral appliances.

We’ve also just had an email from the architects to say that we can expect building warrant approval by Christmas, which is brilliant news, and such a relief. I hope that this means that groundwork on the plot can start in the Spring.

Closer!

 

 

 

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Tree Planting Plans

When we first saw the land, a number of pieces of life’s puzzle slipped neatly into place. The croft was steep and unsuitable for agriculture, but it would be perfect for trees.

Hugh and I both love trees and believe that there is a strong need to plant them, both to increase the biodiversity of the land but also to offset the effects of climate change with carbon capture in whatever way that we could.

We started to look into Woodland Croft creation. Despite the northern latitude, strong winds and exposed coastal location, many types of tree are naturalised and grow well on the island.

Sleat is the least exposed part of the island, a peninsula turning its face towards the mainland on the south side of Skye. As such, lying nestled between the Cuillins to the North West and the Knoydart hills to the South East, it’s at least partly sheltered from the full force of the Atlantic.

Although Skye is almost barren of trees, being famous for huge expanses of high moorland and mountain, Sleat has more trees than the rest of the island. We are lucky, and the more we looked into it, the more we felt that a diverse planting would be completely viable.

The Woodland Trust offer advice and help with tree planting, but due to the recent rise in interest in this area, they are completely overloaded. There are long lead times to even get to see them to discuss plans. They’ve handed over some of their work to the Scottish Forestry Commission, who have been in touch at last and who will be assessing the croft land for tree planting viability next week. We can’t wait for the report.

We expect the recommended species to be a mix of trees such as rowan, alder, blackthorn, grey willow, downy and silver birch, sessile oak, scots pine, hazel, wych elm, holly and aspen.

We want to supplement these plantings with wild, edible hedges filled with crab apple, blackberries and hawthorn, and an area of sheltered orchard with hazelnuts, apples, cherries and pears.

As soon as we have the Forestry Commission report we can discuss deer protection and build a planting plan for the land. Even though we know that the first trees probably won’t go in for at least another year, it still feels like a milestone in the journey!

The relative slowness of this process is frustrating, but in a way it’s also contemplative, allowing time for our initial thoughts to be challenged and supplemented with local wisdom. We’re watching other local crofts start this, and learning what works and what doesn’t.

Don’t get me going on the merits of spiral guards, staking, vole protection and windbreaks now…☺️

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The Inner Project Manager

roomplanner

Now that the building warrant is in, we need to spend the next few weeks finalising decisions on kitchen, bathroom and flooring options. I started the process earlier this summer, but parked the initial designs when we got consumed with such things as the access road, electrical points and window types, all very essential for the warrant submission.

I didn’t really dare breathe much more on the more cosmetic elements, almost feeling that it was in danger of jinxing things somehow to spend time on this without having all the permissions in place. But on Friday I picked up the phone to the kitchen designer in Scotland, sent him the final room dimensions, and told him that it was time to re-engage.

Lock and load, kitchen designer! I’m back. And with some new ideas!

Poor man….

In some ways the break of six months without fully considering things like tile colours, tap designs and shower fittings has made things easier, and my vision of what we want clearer. I’m more convinced than ever that simple is best, with good quality, natural materials wherever possible. Most of the ideas that I originally hatched six months ago still hold water, but some things have changed, and I’m grateful that we have had that time to alter things.

The inner project manager within me is now itching to list out all the decisions we need to make, create mood boards, check out suppliers, arrange samples, agree visits wherever possible to physically try things out (like the bath), estimate costs, and get on with it…

 

 

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Building Warrant Submitted!



At long last, what feels like a major milestone has been achieved – the building warrant pack is complete and has been submitted to the Highland Council for review and approval!

This has been so much more of an effort than we ever imagined.

Every SIP panel, roof tile, larch board, power outlet, plug socket, door material, light switch and window frame has had to be specified, documented and checked.

We’ve had the SAP assessment completed by the Energy Consultant and we’re very pleased with the energy rating for the house. It should be snug and cheap to heat, with an Air Source Heat Pump, underfloor heating and tons of insulation.

We’ve had our challenges with the access road. The gradient of the croft leading up to the building plot is pretty steep, and the engineer has had to wind the road around the plot much more than we’d originally thought to keep the gradient of the road useable and within building regs. That means more road, more excavation and more expense, but it has to be done.

Now we sit back and wait, hoping for a smooth approvals process so that we can finally start looking at the build itself next Spring.

We are creeping forwards! Slowly and painfully, but progress is being made…

 

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The Foraged Home

I truly work with the most wonderful people.

Jo read my last blog on insidious consumerism and responded with this brilliant book as inspiration to strengthen my resolve to reuse, recycle and renovate rather than buying new.

A beautiful, stylish, inspirational book. That’s my reading for the next few nights sorted out.

Thank you Jo 🙏

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The insidious pull of consumerism

The weeks are flying by.

Gorgeous but expensive floorboards ….

Progress is at last happening with the building warrant submission, and we’ve been busy with power points, drainage, guttering, flooring and window specifications. We are almost there, and with a following wind and a call with the energy consultant we should hopefully be able to submit final warrant drawings in the next week.

I think that the hardest thing about this time is stopping myself going crazy trying to make this home perfect. It doesn’t need to be perfect.

It’s our home.

I need a serious dose of pragmatism and a bit of a reality check at times. This is difficult whilst being constantly bombarded with images of stylish, deceptively simple design, which is usually fiendishly expensive.

Actually, my husband doesn’t suffer with this – it’s just me. I want to reuse, simplify and recycle, but I’m often conflicted because I buy into the aesthetic. I want our environment to be restful, and natural, and beautiful…

Every time I see a gorgeous wood floor (the latest one was wide-board limed Douglas Fir) .. it’s way over budget. I need to keep telling myself that there’s no need to spend that kind of money. What we think is reasonably priced is perfectly fine. It really is.

It’s even worse when it comes to furnishings. For the most part, the furniture that we have is perfectly usable. However, it’s a bit of a mash-up of styles from many previous homes, and the temptation to sell it all and start again with a clean, new, streamlined home is very strong.

This is both unnecessary and potentially financially ruinous, so we’ve been looking at a few key things that we may need to change (sofas, rugs) and are working out how we shed the rest via eBay or charity shops. We can always recycle some of the other things like side tables with a lick of paint. Repeat after me, you do not need that designer birch strip side table. You really don’t …

I don’t want to be part of the consumer bubble replacing perfectly good things for the sake of it. We already have too much stuff.. and it’s key that we resist the constant and insidious pull of commercial consumption.