Tired and in desperate need of a makeover, Philip Webb and his wife Kirsteen had their work cut out when they purchased a former Bed and Breakfast in Aberdeen’s Great Western Road.
But over the past 13 years, the couple have thrown everything but the kitchen sink into restoring the Victorian granite property into their dream family home.
As the couple and their family prepare to move on to pastures new, Philip reflects on their restoration project.
408 Great Western Road
Who: Philip Webb, 50, the CEO at TAC Healthcare, his wife Kirsteen, 46, an HR assistant at InHealth, their children Angus, 18, a groundworker at Wm Donald, Lana, 15, who attends Aberdeen Grammar School and their French Bulldog Ivy and their Cocker/Westie Cassie.
What: A Victorian terraced three-storey, six-bedroom granite home which dates back to 1900.
Where: 408 Great Western Road in the west end of Aberdeen.
As told to Rosemary Lowne
“The house was built around 1900 and was previously in operation as a Bed and Breakfast before we purchased it in 2010 and converted it into our family home.
We had been living in a new build house in the Bridge of Don and we moved partly for the school catchment area but mainly because we wanted a house with character and period features which the Victorian granite houses in Aberdeen are famous for.
We had been searching for a long time to find the perfect house as we wanted a property that retained the period features but we also wanted space for the family.
As soon as we stepped into the house and saw the original Victorian tiles and woodwork in the vestibule we knew the house was special.
As we walked through the house and saw the original doors, cornicing and fireplaces we decided that we had to have the house but we knew it was going to take a lot of work to make it our family home.
The property has a master bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe and a large ensuite, a further five bedrooms all with ensuite bathrooms, a formal sitting room, family/dining room, a large kitchen/dining/family area and a utility room.
There is an additional staircase at the rear of the house which would have been owner’s accommodation which is ideal for a teenager to have their own bedroom with ensuite and sitting room or could be converted into a self-contained granny flat.
When we moved in we had to remove some of the very small ensuite bathrooms and turn some of the bedrooms into ensuites and a utility room.
We also converted three smaller quite dark rooms into a spacious and bright kitchen/dining/family area so that we had a much nicer family home.
We also stripped the woodwork in vestibule and had the doors dipped so that they were returned to the natural wood finish.
The whole house needed to be redecorated and carpeted after the work was done as it was tired and old when we moved in.
We wanted to create a house that worked for modern living while respecting the historic aspects of the property so that meant picking colours and furniture that worked well in the house.
The furniture in the house has come for a variety of local retailers and some of the fixtures came from Awakening Restorations when it used to be in Torry and also Holyrood Architectural Salvage in Edinburgh.
We love the bright spacious rooms that we have as well as the original features that we’ve retained and enhanced.
The bathrooms for everyone are also a huge advantage as it saves any arguments in the morning or evening when we’re getting ready.
We love the house now as we’ve got it just the way we want it and we’re only moving as we are converting a property on Albyn Place from an office back to its original use as a family home.
We’ve taken all of the things we learned during the work on this house into what we are doing in the new one which has been a much bigger job.
The main thing we’ve done differently this time is doing the work before we move in as any work on an older house creates a huge amount of dust.
My advice for anyone undertaking a similar project would be to make sure that you use recommended contractors who know how a period property should be converted and renovated.
Trawl the internet and reclamation shops and yards to find original pieces as they are become harder to find but are still out there at a reasonable cost.”
408 Great Western Road, Aberdeen, is on the market for offers over £525,000.
To arrange a viewing contact Alex Hutcheon + Co on 01224 623400 or check out the website aspc.co.uk
Conversation