Theo and Elaine Leijser wanted their home to become part of the Scottish landscape, and what better way than to cover it in gorgeous sustainable wood.

It is said that moving is the second most stressful experience in life, beaten only by an acrimonious divorce. But what about building your own house and having the entire process filmed and broadcast to over five million viewers? Luckily, Elaine and Theo Leijser, whose house featured in series five of Grand Designs, are laid-back, optimistic people. ‘Being on the show was an amazing experience,’ says Elaine, although she admits that they were nervous when it finally came to watching the programme.

Fingers were firmly crossed as Kevin came to his final summary. ‘I’ve always had a soft spot for this project,’ said Kevin of the house in the Scottish town of Balfron. ‘It’s modest, sustainable, and it has a proper dialogue with the landscape around it. It’s the meeting of urban Modernism and rustic charm.’ Queue the end credits and almighty sighs of relief in the Leijser household. The project that they had poured all their money into and spent over three years designing and constructing had past the McCloud test.

All this is a distant memory now that Theo, Elaine and their two sons Rowan (11) and Thiemo (14) have been in the house for nearly two years. ‘We know when the programme has been repeated because queues of cars stop outside,’ says Elaine. ‘We just really enjoy the house, it’s so perfectly tailored to our family.’ And it looks magnificent, too. Cut into a hillside that peers across a valley to the Campsie Hills, the house stands proud – a piece of dazzling modern architecture nestled comfortably into the Scottish countryside.

Elaine and Theo had been thinking about building a house long before the TV cameras started to roll. Since meeting as aid workers in Sudan, they’d traversed the African continent on numerous postings but in 1998 they returned to Elaine’s native Scotland, seeking stability for their two boys. They just couldn’t find a house they liked within their £350,000 budget, but Dutch Theo has house building in his blood. ‘My father did it and I’d always wanted to do the same.’ So when they found a 1200sqm field with staggering views only 16 miles from Glasgow, it was too good an opportunity to miss. At first they tried to design a house themselves, but after three months they threw in the towel and hired local architects, Studio KAP.

The couple supplied a meticulous brief. Their wish list included a double-height atrium and covered outdoor area, and they supplied a CD of hundreds of images of architectural details they liked or loathed. Luckily, Studio KAP had just as much stamina as the Leijsers when it came to perfecting the design. They created a cardboard model of the plot so that Theo and Elaine could decide on the home’s shape and its exact position. The couple also played with colour ideas using Photoshop. ‘During the process there was constant discussion,’ says Elaine. ‘The design kept getting better, after a year we got it right.’

The final result consists of a double-storey, cedar-clad timber box, sitting on a concrete basement. While a local contractor built the concrete section, Theo sourced the prefab timber frame from a company in Devon. ‘I’d spent time in Sweden with work and been really impressed with how thermally efficient and solid their buildings are,’ he says. ‘The amazing thing about these systems is that the company build almost everything, including plug sockets, into the frame at the factory so when it arrives on site it goes up in two weeks.’

The build began in March 2005, and Theo and Elaine aimed to move in six months later. All was going to plan until the windows that Theo had ordered from Sweden arrived five months late. Despite the delay, which meant the family didn’t move in till December, Theo is adamant that he made the right choice. ‘The quality is incredible,’ he says of the triple-glazed, super-insulated windows, ‘and with the exchange rate, it was cheaper to import from Sweden than it was to buy double-glazed windows here.’

Entering the house, the impact of these windows is immediate. A huge solid pane punctures the living room wall, providing outstanding views of the mountains. In the kitchen, glazed folding doors lead out to a covered balcony, and throughout the house frames of varying width and height suck in light and give glimpses of the countryside beyond. The windows were also a crucial element in making the house sustainable. ‘We didn’t want to build an “eco” house full of gimmicks,’ says Theo, ‘but wanted to create a home that was sustainable, practical and comfortable. We decided that with our budget, the most effective solution was to make the house thermally efficient.’ The prefabricated walls are packed with rock wool insulation and the building is exceptionally airtight. They
have also installed underfloor heating, a heat recovery system and a wood-burning stove. ‘When the house was designed they said that we wouldn’t need any heating, but we couldn’t believe it,’ says Elaine. ‘But our gas bill for the first three months came to £3.50!’

The family are also thrilled with the layout. At basement level there is a secluded bedroom and bathroom for guests and a soundproofed games room, which could be converted into a garage or combined with the other rooms on this level to create a separate apartment with disabled access. The top floor has bedrooms and a bathroom for the boys, a master bedroom with en suite and a study tucked into a galley that overlooks the living space below. But it is the first floor area, with its soaring double-height atrium that makes the house special. When he was first interviewed standing on the field that was to become his home he told Kevin. ‘It will be our place, and with these views it’ll be fantastic.’ He was right.

But the family are on the move again, although not as far as Africa this time. An unexpected career development for Theo means that Cornwall beckons, and it’s a sad goodbye to their Scottish hideaway. ‘We built this house to live here for 30 years, so it’s a real shock,’ says Theo. ‘It’s a dream job offer, but we’re leaving a dream house behind.’ After the couple’s experience on this project, it surely won’t be long before Cornwall has its own Leijser original.

Great shakes

Theo and Elaine wanted their house to blend into the woods behind so they clad the exterior in cedar shakes. These rough planks of cedar, which are typically 24in long and 18in wide, are salvaged from twisted scraps of cedar trees found in sustainably managed Canadian forests. Because they are hand-split using a technique that is hundreds of years old, each shake is unique. Theo and Elaine chose them because they liked the look of them, but also because they are incredibly durable. Cedar is exceptionally water repellent due to the tightness of the grain and the natural oil content. Once the shakes have been nailed in place they need no treatment, and with age turn a silvery grey. It cost between £2,500-£3,000 to clad 180sqm of building. ‘They’re not cheap, but they are beautiful and lasting,’ says Theo.

the postmortem

would you do it again?

‘We’ve learnt so much and are so happy with the results, it’s certainly something we’d consider’

top tip

‘Think about how you want to live as a family unit and create a very detailed brief’

Suppliers

Architect, Studio KAP (0141 552 2265; studiokap.com);
Main contractor, PAN Joiners and Building Services (01360 621 876; panjoiners.co.uk);
Builders, Brick and Steel Construction Ltd (0141 810 1919);
Timber frame, Avalon Timber Frame Homes Ltd (01884 235 129; avalontimberframehomes.com);
Groundworks, Caley Construction (0141 556 7275; caley-construction.co.uk);
Landscaping, Endrick Landscapes (01360 449 270);
Cedar shake supplier, John Brash Group (01427 613 858; johnbrash.co.uk);
Electrical contractors, Kenlite Electrics (0141 339 7490);
Plasterers, Jamieson Plasterers (0141 956 1061);
Plumbing and heating Mark D Gray Ltd, (01355 524 520);
Windows and external doors, Tanums Fonster (0115 932 1013; tanumsfonster.se);
Cedar wood products, Canada Wood (01252 522 545; canadawood.info);
Kitchen, Tradestyle Cabinets Ltd (0141 781 6800);
Bathroom suites, Bathstore (0800 023 2323; bathstore.com);
Underfloor heating, Invisible Heating Systems (01854 613 161; invisibleheating.co.uk)

Words: Cathy Strongman
Photography: Jefferson Smith