Light floods through Muncaidh House and the views are stunning

THE ONLY thing connecting Muncaidh House’s past as an uninspiring 1970s milking byre with a corrugated iron roof, with its present as a comfortably stylish family home, is its vault-like interior.

Walk into this four-bedroom property in rural north Ayrshire and you are immediately struck by the scale and space. Even on a breezy autumn day presided over by a thunderous grey sky, there is little need for the copious lighting installed by owners Simon and Alison Morrissey.

According to Alison, the transformation of Muncaidh House, near Gateside, from byre to home, was inspired by her passion for watching Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs on Channel 4. “The only difference was that nothing really major went wrong with the build,” she laughs. “But that can only be a good thing!”

The germ of the idea for the house came years before the Morrisseys, with Alison acting as project manager, first started building it in November 2008. “We lived in Boghall, the house next door, for almost 20 years,” she explains, “and bought this adjoining plot some 10 years before that from our neighbours. They had secured planning permission on the byre but had decided against building there because they wanted to retire somewhere less rural.

“We didn’t really know what to do with it and we were busy, so it was a gradual decision. Originally, the planning permission was for two cottages, but we asked an architect to draw up plans for a single house.”

The couple, both doctors, sold Boghall to finance the build and moved out to a nearby rented property for a year as the house took shape.

Two different architects worked on the property but according to Alison, it was local builder, Davy Raeside, who was instrumental in making sure that she and Simon – who did much of the work themselves on the house – were on the right track.

“Davy saved my life,” she recalls. “The house was constructed from Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), and Davy kept me straight on this process from the start. I merrily tell people that ‘I did this’ and ‘we did that’ when I talk about how we laid floors and did block work and so on, but during the course of the year, it was Davy who told me what to do and I winged it.

“I would clock on in the morning and be told what to do. I think at first the guys wondered what was going on and were very unsure but after a while they realised I was a hard worker. Even our two kids, who have left school now, got involved and were steering the cherry pickers around the inside of the house working on the vaulted roof.”

The result is a home not only state-of-the-art in terms of its eco credentials, but also stylish and welcoming.

Muncaidh House (meaning monkey house) is set over 400sq metres. Alison is a keen horsewoman and the first thing you see when you drive in are stables, and a horse nodding hello to you from one of the boxes.

The ‘wow’ factor hits you when you walk through double storm doors into a grand central hall, with sleek Portuguese black slate on the floor, and a stylish timber and glass staircase leading to a first-floor gallery landing lit by an overhead roof window.

A corridor with floor-to-ceiling glass leads to the south wing of the house while a wall of folding doors provides a division from a 24ft living room.

This restful space with its double height wall of windows is given a focal point by a multi-fuel burning stove. Further windows on two sides overlook the garden. A wide arch leads from this room into the open-plan kitchen/dining room.

This vaulted space, with its polished oak floorboards, Velux roof lights and full-height windows taking up most of two sides of the room, bestows a real sense of calm. It is complemented by a modern fitted kitchen, designed by Cameron Interiors using bulthaup cabinetry with fully integrated appliances, while the remainder of the room forms a sitting/dining area.

The large wooden kitchen table, made by Fairlie Sawmill, provides a welcome hub to the house. The non-matching wooden chairs set the tone for an interior that sums up Alison’s practical, assured interiors style.

“I’ve always lived in older houses,” says Alison, “but this house is so efficient to heat, our fuel bills have gone way down to around £100 a month.

“We consulted the Energy Saving Trust before we started out, which was why we ended up with a SIPs house, completely airtight. Our central heating and hot water is provided by a borehole ground source heat pump, a system widely used in Scandinavia. A heat recovery unit improves the efficiency and ventilation of the house. We don’t have any heating upstairs, apart from towel rails, but it never feels cold.”

Many of the older pieces of furniture have been inherited from Alison’s late mother and grandmother, and sit beautifully within this modern space alongside a re- covered slate grey Ikea suite and beech shelving units from the Swedish store.

The old ship’s chair by the fireside belonged to a great aunt. There are several specially commissioned pieces of handcrafted ironwork by Jonathan Eadie of Belltrees Forge in nearby Kilbirnie, scattered throughout the house. The wood stand by the fire was made by him, as was Alison and Simon’s bed and lampshades in the master bedroom.

Throughout the house, Alison’s passion for bold Scottish painting is writ large on the walls. There is work here by Charles Jamieson, James Harrigan and his daughter, Claire Harrigan, James Orr, Ian Elliot and Peter Nardini.

Alison loves bold colour and there are splashes of it all over, from the paintings, to the striped rugs in the bedroom, which were also from Ikea.

Alison has clearly enjoyed the whole experience of project managing a build, so much so that she is looking to do it on another plot. “I can’t quite believe we are thinking of moving on after investing so much time and energy in this house,” she sighs. “But I’ve got the building bug now...”

• Offers over £695,000 are being sought for Muncaidh House. Contact CKD Galbraith (01292 292 535, www.ckdgalbraith.co.uk)