Interiors: Fearnach Bay House, near Oban

Rory Campbell-Gibson is a man of extremes. As an artist he has no trouble wielding a paintbrush to create an intricate still life or a beautiful landscape, but he’s equally accomplished at replacing a roof, pouring a concrete floor or plastering a wall.

Unlike his painting career which he only started six years ago, Campbell-Gibson has been renovating properties from an early age. “Despite owning a gallery in Oban for 20 years and restoring paintings too, I never actually painted until I gave up my nine-to-five job. However, when it came to properties I bought my first house when I was 17. It was on the island of Luing and it cost me £70.”

The house needed a new roof and major renovation which Campbell-Gibson was happy to undertake. Another cottage and another renovation followed until in 2005 after a number of significant building projects, he and his wife Jennie decided to build a holiday home in a corner of their farmland on the Melfort Estate near Oban, which has spectacular views across Loch Melfort.

The Melfort Estate first came into Campbell ownership in 1343, but in 1837 the entire estate was sold to Harrison, Ainslie & Co, owners of the nearby Lorn Furnace at Bonawe who established the Melfort Gunpowder Works. The remnants of these works are still apparent today and Jennie and Rory live in what was formerly the magazine house. This was where the gunpowder was stored prior to being shipped to Ireland from the deep water pier just down the road from the house.

As the couple had already transformed the magazine house into an elegant and comfortable family home, they knew exactly what they wanted to create when it came to their holiday home. Campbell-Gibson says: “We sold our business in Oban and wanted to invest the money in a new venture. As our previous business had been a restaurant/deli we were very much used to the hospitality trade, so the house was designed expressly to appeal to those who were looking for top-class self-catering accommodation and a holiday experience in a five-star setting.

“Our architect was Jimmy Denholm from the James Denholm Partnership,” Campell-Gibson says. “We’d seen his work in Perthshire and his designs are quite distinctive and very well proportioned. His brief was that the property had to be suitable for families and also just for couples. We asked him to keep the living/kitchen area open-plan as we felt that it was important on a family holiday for everyone to be together. We also wanted four bedrooms which would suit large families, but we put one bedroom on the ground floor, as when couples are staying they quite often choose to use just the one level. It’s also popular with the elderly and is wheelchair accessible.”

He goes on: “The other thing that was important to us was how the house fitted into the landscape. We wanted a building that wasn’t intrusive, and when you view the house from the road the shape of it almost mirrors the shape of the hill behind it – I think the architect handled it very well. It’s a property that works both inside and out.”

From start to finish Fearnach Bay House has taken the Campbell-Gibsons two years and two months to complete, which considering quite how much of the work Rory undertook himself isn’t a timescale to be ashamed of. “I did all the groundwork, foundations and laid all the pipes for the ground source heat pump. I had help with the block work from a local team, but once it was wind and water tight, I did all the internal work myself. It took a good year for me to finish it off. However, I was realistic about how long it would take with me doing it myself and we finished pretty much on schedule.”

With Rory in charge of the construction side of the project, Jennie planned the interior decor to ensure that their guests wanted for nothing when it came to comfort and luxury. Working with interior designer, Jane Blanchard, the finished result is a light, calm ambience that complements rather than fights with the spectacular views outside. The contemporary interior is further enhanced by its use as a gallery space for Rory’s paintings.

“For the last five or six years I’ve been painting, not full time, but most days, and the holiday cottage is useful as a gallery space and I’ve also been very fortunate to have sold a number of paintings that way,” he says.

The attention to detail internally and externally hasn’t gone unnoticed by visitors to Fearnach Bay House and as well as its five-star visitscotland grading the cottage also won Cottage of the Year in the “My Cottage Holiday” Excellence Awards 2010 which Rory and Jennie are justifiably proud of. “There isn’t anything we’d change about the property, we did everything we wanted to do with it from a build point of view and we’re pleased to see that it works.

“Ultimately we really wanted to provide a holiday experience, not just a holiday cottage. Guests have access to a little boat with the cottage so they can explore the loch, and Jennie will cook for guests if they wish – especially handy if you’re arriving late at night.

Campbell-Gibson adds: “We’re also happy to do a supermarket shop prior to guests arriving and we’re on hand 24/7 if anything else should be required during their stay.

“Jennie and I go to great lengths to maintain the standards we have set and it can be very busy, but our reward is meeting our guests and helping them discover this beautiful part of Scotland.”

• To stay at Fearnach Bay House, visit www.argyllholidaycottage.co.uk; price range: £945-£1900 per week, three-day breaks from £650.

Rory Campbell-Gibson’s artwork can be viewed at www.rocagi.co.uk