Some people rush into buying a new home – others like to take their time about it.
Murray and Jenny Menzies definitely fall into the latter category.
They owned a piece of land at Daviot West, on the southern outskirts of Inverness, for 30 years before they decided to build a house on it.
The home they created, Glendalloch House, was certainly worth the wait.
The three-year-old house is stylish and contemporary, with lots of open-plan living space and five big bedrooms, all with either en suite shower or bathrooms.
It’s been finished to a high standard and the description of luxurious living fits it perfectly.
It sits in an acre of land and would make a perfect home for those with a growing family.
Jenny and Murray, who is the third generation to run family business William Menzies & Son, Plumbing and Heating, in Inverness, designed Glendalloch House themselves.
“This is the fifth house we’ve built, and each one has been bigger than the last,” said Murray.
“We put a lot of effort into this one as we wanted to create a house that would have plenty of space when family and friends come to stay.
“We have three daughters and two grandchildren, all of whom live abroad – in Australia, New Zealand and Spain – so when they do visit they are here for a while.
“We have also, at times, offered bed and breakfast here and so you have to have rooms with high standards if you are going to offer this.”
The house in West Daviot is part of an exclusive small development adjacent to the A9 dual carriageway but tucked away, almost hidden from view.
“We had the land here for almost 30 years and it was used for farming,” said Murray.
“It took a long time for us to get planning permission to build here, so when it did come through we decided to build a house for ourselves and sell other plots of land for five other houses to be built.
“Jenny more or less knew what she wanted – a big house with lots of open-plan space, so we drew up our ideas and gave them to the architect.
“We then project managed the build ourselves, using builders, joiners, electricians and so on.
“It was quite tricky, especially when you are trying to run a business yourself at the same time.”
Their hard work paid off, though, and the end result is a fine house with plenty of wow factor thanks to numerous interesting features such as a split staircase with a gallery landing and balconies, and a feature hall that makes a grand entrance.
Clever use of glass throughout the house allows for a flow of natural light and, while there are lots of open-plan areas, there are plenty of private, closed areas too.
The front door leads into an entrance vestibule overlooked by the gallery landing and leading to the feature hall, which gives access to the open-plan kitchen, family room, garden room, dining room, lounge, WC, boiler room and an en suite bedroom.
The kitchen has an excellent range of Ashley Ann wall and base units with worktops and a work island that provides room for seating.
Appliances include an integral fridge, Neff oven and wine cooler, waste-disposal unit and integral oil-fired Redfyre Range with an extractor hood over.
A split staircase rises from the hall to the gallery landing, where you find the master bedroom with walk-in dressing room and en suite shower room, three further en suite bedrooms and a study.
Glendalloch House, which has an asking price of £680,000, also has an integral double garage with power and light, a timber workshop and large grounds with lawns and feature patio and decked areas.
As you would expect in a new house, it has excellent insulation and is always cosy thanks to the oil-fired underfloor heating, supplemented by a multi-fuel stove in the hall and open feature fireplace in the lounge.
The hot water system is supplemented by solar panels on the roof.
“It was always in our mind to sell it at some point, but we’d like to see more of the family so selling now would free up some capital and allow us to do this,” said Murray.
“It’s a great house with lots of space and lovely views across the countryside but, because of the dual carriageway, it only takes minutes to be in the centre of Inverness.”
Contact: Munro and Noble on 01463 225533.