This Scottish island retreat champions a modern Hebridean vernacular, combining simple materials with sustainability – and capturing striking coastal views to boot.

Carriegreich is located on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, which last year was voted the happiest place to live in Scotland. It also boasts one of the world’s best beaches, Luskentyre, whose sandy shores and blue-green waters are among the cleanest and prettiest coastal stretches in Europe.

It’s within this serene landscape Carriegreich was designed and built in 2017 by Rural House, a collaboration between practice Rural Design and builder James Macqueen. The Scottish property is for sale via The Modern House for £995,000, and comprises two independent timber structures – a main cottage and a smaller guest house, which is currently let as a self-catering holiday home.

Both are clad in silvery Scottish larch, which is particularly hardy to the coastal climate and beds subtly into the rocky hillside, reducing the visual impact of the homes on the surrounds.

Sloping roofs recall the profile of traditional stone cottages across the archipelago, while Rural House has leaned hard into sustainability, using low-environmental impact materials and energy-efficient systems to power and heat the island home. Its high-performance timber frames have exceptional insulation and double glazing and are heated by recovery ventilation and an air-source heat pump.

Of course, the plot was chosen for its views and windows, which all peek towards the sandy beach and Tarbert in the distance. Miles of sandy windswept beaches run along the west coast of the island, and there’s a direct ferry service from Uig on Skye to Tarbert, which takes 1 hour 40 minutes or Ullapool to Stornoway, which is a 2.5-hour crossing. Stornoway Airport has connections to Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

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