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Caption: GEORGIAN | CKD Galbraith |
Caption: I was recently asked by the Scottish property consultancy CKD Galbraith to write a guest post for their blog on the subject of Georgian properties. For all that I love contemporary architecture, and am drawn to midcentury houses, my other love is Georgian architecture.
Perhaps after all these years of living in Edinburgh - a city renowned for its Georgian architecture - this period has simply got under my skin.
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Caption: Ferrymuir House
Caption: Georgian houses are often admired for their balanced proportions and for the symmetry that is so characteristic of the period. The detailing is always elegant, from the ornate plaster cornice work you might expect to find in grander properties to the simple but beautiful dado panelling and window shutters and rustic flagstone floors that are typical even in the less grand houses.
There's a timeless quality to Georgian architecture that works really well when you juxtapose it with more contemporary furniture and lighting.
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Caption: St Helens
Caption: I wrote about three properties in the guest blog post, all of which are being marketed by @CKDGalbraith, and I wanted to share them here too.
All photography is from CKD Galbraith.
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Caption: Tullynessle
House Aberdeenshire
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Caption: Tullynessle House is located just outside the town of Alford and about 29 miles from Aberdeen in the north east of Scotland. This B listed former manse sits in just under 3 acres of grounds including woodland and a burn.
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Caption: Even before considering what this house looks like inside, I’m sold from the exterior. It’s a cliché to say, “It’s the kind of house a child would draw,” but this property really is when you consider the symmetrical façade, with the front door approached up a set of steps. Tullynessle is a handsome looking house.
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Caption: In 'Aberdeenshire: Donside and Strathbogie an Illustrated Architectural Guide', which was published in 2006, authors Ian Shepherd and Charles McKean described the former manse as ‘a fine example of the prosperity of the rural clergy of old.’
The seven bedroom house spans four floors and includes a large games room and cellar space on the lower ground level – you’d imagine there could be scope to do more with this area.
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Caption: The drawing room has an open fire and the tall windows are framed by working shutters, while the sitting room has a bright double aspect and a cosy feel with a woodburning stove.
The rear of the ground level includes a large dining-kitchen with cabinetry by Drumoak Kitchens and an Aga, and a utility room, along with a formal dining room. Four of the bedrooms on the first and second floors feature open fireplaces.
Tullynessle looks like it would be a very easy house to live in.
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Caption: All photography by
Square Foot Media
squarefootmedia.co.uk
Caption: Tullynessle
House ckdgalbraith.co.uk/property/abn150067-tullynessle-house-tullynessle-alford-aberdeenshire-ab33-8qr
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Caption: Ferrymuir
House Fife
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Caption: Ferrymuir House at Cupar in Fife offers Georgian living on a grander scale. Simply describing this house by its accommodation - with three reception rooms, five bedrooms and three bathrooms – doesn’t even begin to explain the size and elegance of this Georgian mansion.
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Caption: If Tullynessle sold itself from the façade, Ferrymuir already has me hooked on approach as this house has a secluded setting within large wooded grounds. The garden includes a pond and a garden house, while the south-facing views stretch over the surrounding countryside to the Hill of Tarvit in the distance.
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Caption: And the grounds offer the perfect backdrop to this, again, very handsome property. The original part of Ferrymuir dates from 1810 and includes a grand drawing room and dining room, with the bedrooms on the first and second floors above. The detailing is beautiful, from the ornate cornice work to the original timber panelled doors and dado, and there are open fireplaces and working shutters.
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Caption: The house is flanked by pavilions on the east and west. The pavilion on the west creates a vast sun lounge while the other contains the kitchen and a number of utility spaces. I’d want to reconsider this area to create a really big kitchen-dining-family zone to complement the more formal rooms elsewhere. Although the interior does now require modernization, the bones of this house are wonderful.
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Caption: All photography by
Exposure
photographyandfloorplans.co.uk
Caption: Ferrymuir
House ckdgalbraith.co.uk/property/cup150075-ferrymuir-house-cupar-fife-ky15-5rw
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Caption: St Helens Fife
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Caption: I have another confession to make: not only do I have a ‘thing’ for Georgian houses, but this week’s third choice, St Helens, is one of my current favourites. Located on St Andrews Road in the conservation village of Ceres by Cupar in Fife, this B listed property was built in 1849 as a Free Church Manse, and sits in a walled garden of just under half an acre in size.
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Caption: The current owners have carried out significant improvements to the house since arriving here twenty-six years ago and have worked through the building in phases. The windows have distinctive ‘lying’ window panes, and these were refurbished along with the working shutters, while the owner used her experience as an antiques dealer when sourcing features that would restore this house to its original elegance – features like the white marble fireplace in the drawing room.
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Caption: Every detail has been considered when refurbishing this five bedroom house, from the sympathetic Farrow & Ball colour palette to the light fittings chosen to suit the age of the building.
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Caption: The final phase of work was undertaken four years ago when the existing kitchen was extended to create today’s large dining-kitchen, with bi-fold doors opening onto the garden. Montgomery Forgan Associates designed this extension and the result is a fantastic family space.
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Caption: Rooflights flood the room with light while the beams add to the character. Underfloor heating warms the Travertine-style tiling, while the timber kitchen cabinetry was finished with a slightly aged patina that makes this new addition sit so well on this fine old property.
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Caption: All photography by
Exposure photographyandfloorplans.co.uk
Caption: St Helens ckdgalbraith.co.uk/property/cup150025-st-helens-st-andrews-road-ceres-cupar-fife-ky15-5nq
Caption: See my guest blog post on @CKDGalbraith
ckdgalbraith.co.uk/blog