Originally published on the closed forum, on 14th March 2016 

Having made the decision to relocate to Orkney, we set about finding a site that matched our expectations and desires. We saw some truly outstanding sites but eventually settled on a parcel of land extending to just over an acre, which had planning for the erection of a new dwelling house. The practicality of the location, the far reaching views and feeling of local community were all key factors that we considered in deciding on this plot.

  

  
  

Having identified our site, we started thinking about possible designs, what we could fit on site, what catered for our needs, and how we could reflect the local 'venacular'. 

Our starting point was our last house.

That layout worked very well for us (we like our houses being open plan) and we drew heavily on it for our design.

We came up with the following basic floorplan which met our needs

and allowed us to reflect the local venacular of narrower 'Longhouse' buildings arranged in close proximity to each other. 

The following document is a useful reference for this sort of design

http://www.gov.scot/...590/0122537.pdf

Having come up with an outline design, it was time to speak to the planners to establish whether what we wanted to do was acceptable or not.

Next entry - Planning