A custom home set within a unique and exclusive spot on the East Coast of Scotland. Angus+Mack were charged with bringing the tactile touch of something handmade to this exceptional piece of modern domestic architecture.

Cairn House – Whisky Room, Entrance Door + Furniture

Residential. Brief: Whisky Room, Entrance Door + Furniture.

Working closely with Brown & Brown Architects and plainHjem, we were commissioned to help realise a display and storage solution to house our clients extensive and eclectic collection of national and international whisky. A true connoisseur with a passion for the craft of unique single and blended malts, we endeavoured to design a room fitting for the level and thought associated with such a collection.

Our initial starting point was a contemporary take on the traditional 'smoking room’, associated with the enjoyment of such delicacies. Our thoughts were initially taken to the use of Scottish elm, however on further investigation and issuing control samples our clients opted for the rich dark tannic tones of smoked oak, particularly matching in context with that of the subject matter. We complemented this with bespoke patina brass inlays for the flush handle details and a rich tan leather upholstery for seating.

To complete the room, we built smoked oak panelling to the other apertures giving full focus to the displays. Lighting was included within the open displays to highlight the different colours of the whiskies. A small sink and preparation area helped ensure this room could be used, as well as viewed.

In addition to the Whisky Room, the client asked us to design and build a true statement front door and dining table, oak was again the starting point for both. The table was designed with a contemporary take to suit the architecture but included hand cut dovetail stitches in the table top imperfections.

Angus+Mack director, Malcolm Mack hand-selected the four table top boards to ensure continuity of colour and grain, and to allow a book matched table top design. The boards were presented to our clients after initial machining to ensure they were acceptable. The dining table seats 12 people comfortably.

Weighing 300kg+, the substantial custom entrance door is made from ebonised oak, measures 2.8m high x 1.8m wide and sits on a FritsJurgens pivot system. The integration of the door to the adjoining walls and their cladding was significantly complex and required a great deal of attention by both the Angus+Mack team and the contractors to achieve the desired flush finishes. Our makers hand finished the final patina of the brassware.

The door handle is a truly unique piece of practical art. The process to make the handle includes initial machining of several potential pieces of oak where the grain direction is assessed once revealed. The boards are then cleft, which is to split the board in the centre with a froe exposing the deeply charactered grain. This produces two mirrored sections that are used to create the handles to both sides of the door. No two handle pieces will ever be the same and we took three of the handle pairs to the client for final decision on which one they chose.

Location. East Coast, Scotland

Materials. Raw, Smoked & Ebonised Oak

Details.

Architects. Brown & Brown Architects

Concept Design. Plain H Jem

Interior Photography. Mart Goosens

Exterior Photography. Dapple Photography

Credits.

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