It was by sheer chance that Andrew Hunter stumbled across the special place that he would call home.
During a trip to Aberdeen from his home in Perthshire, the artist spotted a for sale sign outside Rockybank, a pretty cottage nestled in Old Aberdeen.
Brimming with rustic charm and character, Andrew instantly fell in love with the historic home and has lived there since 2020.
With an exciting new chapter ahead for Andrew, he reflects on what he loves about his wonderful home.
Rockybank
Who: Andrew Hunter, an artist who is the director of Northern Arts and also owns Silverhunter, his own business.
What: A three storey cottage dating back to 1770.
Where: Don Street in Old Aberdeen.
As told to Rosemary Lowne
“I used to live in Perthshire and my previous home was an 18th century lodge.
I wasn’t expecting to move to Aberdeen but during a visit to the city I came across the house while out walking and I fell for it immediately.
It’s a very attractive house from the outside with its warm grey granite and when I viewed the property I instantly got a good feeling about it as it was full of character and decorated extremely sensitively.
It seemed to have a lot of potential as a place to live so I bought the property and moved into the home in 2020.
The house was built in 1770 and according to my neighbours it once had an earth floor on the ground floor.
Set out over three storeys, the cottage has a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, bathroom and conservatory on the ground floor.
Upstairs is the sitting room and a bedroom and the top floor is one very large space spanning the width of the house.
The sitting is my favourite room because it’s very cosy and it gets lots of sun from first thing in the morning until last thing at night.
In the sitting room, there used to be pale blue wallpaper but I painted it dark blue using the Farrow & Ball shade Wine Dark.
Although blue is thought to be a cold colour, I feel that the dark blue shade really warmed up the room.
Apart from painting the sitting room in dark blue I have only maintained the existing finishes as I felt it was perfect as it was.
In terms of furniture, pieces like the dining room table came with the house and I brought a couple of Dutch handpainted cabinets with me which are 500 years old and have been passed down through my family.
Every room has a fireplace with beautiful fittings and although they are all blocked off they could work if a flu was fitted.
One of the fireplaces has original Delft tiles around which date back to 1770.
I also love the beautiful staircase which joins the floors together.
Due to the property’s age some of the doorways are low and I have to watch my head.
One of my favourite places to relax is the terrace, just off the conservatory.
The terrace gets lots of sun so you can sit out and enjoy your morning coffee during the summer.
The terrace also looks down on my neighbour’s delightful garden while there is garden area at the front with a large climber which is beautiful in the summer as it’s covered in blue flowers.
The property is also just a few minute’s walk away from the River Don where you can spot the colony of seals and the bird life.
And it’s important to mention that there are no parking restrictions which is a bonus.
I’ll miss everything about my home but it’s the right time for me to move out to the countryside.”
2 Rockybank, Don Street, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen, is on the market for offers over £285,000.
To arrange a viewing check out the website aspc.co.uk
Or if you would like your home to feature, please email features@eveningexpress.co.uk
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