Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\nBack in 2008, MacKinnon had bought a property on the same site, a 1940s cottage that had been repurposed as a navy signalling station. MacKinnon has a deep-seated passion for design, and worked closely with architect Stuart Cameron of Cameron Webster to completely reimagine this humble property as a modernist beach house, Cape Cove. He\u00a0then began contemplating what could be done with the scruffy space alongside his new home.<\/p>\n
The spectacular dining and living space features floor-to-ceiling windows. Photograph: David BarbourThe brief was for a house that made the most of the incredible setting and views by maximising the living space<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving worked with Stuart before, it was easy for\u00a0us to progress. We had countless conversations around how we could create a house there, making something out of an eyesore, without impinging on Cape Cove\u2019s space or views. To make the most of a relatively small space, we started thinking about a house that juts out over the rocks below.\u201d The brief MacKinnon provided was for a house that made the most of the incredible views by maximising the living space, as well as somewhere that would be future-proofed for the couple\u2019s eventual retirement: on one level, step-free and easy to maintain.<\/p>\n
Influences included the low-slung desert modernist architecture of California\u2019s Palm Springs; the houses of Frank Lloyd Wright, especially the iconic Fallingwater in Pennsylvania; and Vandamm House, one of the sets from Hitchcock\u2019s classic thriller North By Northwest, which was itself inspired by Fallingwater. \u201cIt\u2019s about the clean lines and the connection to nature, through both the materials and the walls of glass,\u201d says MacKinnon.<\/p>\n
At 2 metres wide, the corridor also serves as an entertainment space. Photograph: David Barbour<\/p>\n
The resultant building is simple yet completely arresting: a low-slung box cantilevered out over the\u00a0rocks below. It\u2019s no surprise that it has bagged several architectural awards.<\/p>\n
For those with a fantasy housebuild on their mind, Cameron has some advice: \u201cTalk to the\u00a0local planning department. Have any highly contemporary houses been approved in the last few years? Ask for their recommendations for architects. You could pay a small fee to two or three architects to come up with a basic design. Look for an architect who asks \u2018what if?\u2019, pushing the vision forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
As with any design, there were trade-offs \u2013 the generous kitchen-dining-living space comes at the expense of the more modestly proportioned four en\u00a0suite bedrooms, each of which opens on to the terrace that runs along one side of the house. The other side is windowless, providing privacy for both Cape Cove and Rock Cove.<\/p>\n
The house looks over Loch Long. Photograph: David Barbour<\/p>\n
With the front door necessarily located at the opposite end of the house to the cantilevered living area, a bold decision was taken to make the corridor into a room in its own right, a generous 2 metres wide. \u201cIt\u2019s a great space to put tables during parties and John wanted somewhere to display his collection of Aboriginal art,\u201d says Cameron.<\/p>\n
To cope with the sometimes extreme weather conditions, the floor-to-ceiling windows are triple-glazed<\/p>\n
In line with the building\u2019s modernist influences, the materials \u2013 such as wood and stone \u2013 are reusable and provide a close-to-nature feel. To cope with the sometimes extreme weather conditions, the floor-to-ceiling windows are triple-glazed, while the\u00a0doors drop down on to seals when closed to keep the howling wind at bay. The exterior was wrapped in Kebony, a robust timber product, which has since weathered down to a pleasing silvery finish.<\/p>\n
All four en suite bedrooms open on to a terrace running along one side of the house. Photograph: David Barbour<\/p>\n
In a space this pristine, pieces such as the vast modular Ikea S\u00f6derhamn sofa pass as designer items. \u201cIt\u2019s a great design and easy to buy replacement covers so, again, future-proof.\u201d Similarly, the kitchen is a standard Howdens\u2019 design, elevated by ultra-tough Dekton by\u00a0Cosentino worktops. \u201cAgain, we\u2019re thinking of\u00a0durability, for our retirement, and also because we\u00a0let out the house for holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life here has proved to be as satisfying as the couple anticipated. \u201cWe\u2019re quite social creatures and like to fill the house with family\u00a0and friends. But it\u2019s nice to enjoy the place in solitude, to sit and watch the ever-\u00a0changing weather,\u201d MacKinnon says.<\/p>\n
Rock Cove can be rented through holidaycottages.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Building a bold new contemporary home directly on the British coastline is a tall order. Aside from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-236869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}