They say you have to see something to really believe it – but that doesn’t seem to have been the case for Daniel and Zarabeth Davies.
They were able to tell something was exactly what they were looking for without seeing it at all.
The couple were living in Udny Green when they decided they wanted to create their dream home.
After looking at a few houses in the area, it was a small advert in the Press and Journal that finally caught their eye.
Zarabeth, 37, said: “We saw a little private advert and all it said was farmhouse for sale, with acres and outbuildings. It didn’t have a photograph but we just wondered what it would be like.
“We just loved it when we saw it. Huntly is such a beautiful place, we really wanted to live in this area.
“I remember as a little girl we would always go to Leith Hall and I remember it being a really pretty area so that was one of the reasons we wanted to move here.”
The house itself was in need of some TLC but Daniel and Zarabeth were not put off.
“We went into this with our eyes open,” Daniel, also 37, said.
“It was a bit of a state. It was a long-term rental so nothing had been done to it in a good while, but it was just something we’ve always wanted to do.”
The pair worked for around a year to turn Westseat, Gartly, Huntly, into their dream home.
Zarabeth said: “All the electricity needed upgrading, new central heating needed to be put in and work was needing done to the roof. We did everything ourselves apart from the electrical and plumbing jobs.
“We stayed in Udny Green while it was done, but we spent all our weekends here. I did enjoy it – being able to bring the house back to what it originally looked like and into a nice family home was great.”
And the house is definitely a lovely family home bursting with interesting features and charm.
The traditional four-bedroomed farmhouse with conservatory dates back to 1888 and is full of original features, including panelled doors and flagstone floors.
Rooms of note include a tasteful lounge with solid wood flooring, ornate double cornice, high skirting and large picture windows with a window seat as well as a pitch pine fireplace with Victorian tiling and ornate original cast iron surround with blackened slate hearth.
Other rooms sure to impress are the warmly presented library with bespoke book shelving, bespoke hand-made fully-fitted kitchen by Peter Thompson of York and the conservatory filled with natural sunshine for most of the day all year round.
For Zarabeth, the traditional features have become a favourite of hers.
“I really like all the real fireplaces, they are so cosy,” she said.
“We always have them on at Christmas-time. I like the space as well, we have family in Australia and all over the place so it’s great to have room for all of them as well.”
Daniel added: “We spend a lot of time in the kitchen as well and the conservatory. We always have our Christmas lunch in there. We just look out and think ‘Aw that looks lovely out there’ and then you go out and it’s freezing.
“I like the layout as well. For an older house, it has nice semi open-plan benefits.
“It’s great for kids as well. The woodland is a great place for William to play with his friends.”
Its location is also a real benefit, being only minutes from the local primary school, Gartly Primary, and not too far from the secondary school in Huntly, as well as shops and supermarkets.
“It’s got a great community as well,” Zarabeth added.
“We have the best neighbours. If we could pick them up and take them with us, we would.”
Also included in the sale are three outbuildings, two steadings and a mill, each with full planning permission, several other stone outbuildings, woodland gardens as well as 22 acres of lush pasture, which would be great for grazing pasture or equestrian purposes.
This is a great opportunity not only to buy a fantastic family home but for its new owners to put their own stamp on a home as well as create business opportunities.
The house, and everything else, is on the market for offers over £570,000.
Originally Zarabeth and Daniel had planned to renovate the remaining buildings themselves. One would be made into a home for Zarabeth’s mother while the other two would be used as holiday accommodation or rental properties.
But after Zarabeth’s mother passed away, they decided they no longer need the extra buildings and are moving to Turriff to be closer to Zarabeth’s father.
So what will they miss most about the house they put so much work into making it their dream home?
“I think we will miss the community and our friends the most,” Zarabeth said.
“And the house. Especially as we have got it exactly the way we wanted it.”
Contact: Raeburn, Christie, Clark and Wallace on 01467 629300.