THERE WERE MOMENTS during the refurbishment of The White Tower when Naomi Strickland wondered what she and her husband were doing.
"At one point we were standing upstairs with the roof off, looking at the sky," she says.
Luckily her husband had more confidence in their plans. Eric Strickland, senior partner with McKenzie Strickland Associates, an architectural practice with
offices in Aberfeldy and Crieff (where he's from) has never doubted his vision for this remarkable place.
The couple bought the tower two years ago with the intention of turning it into a family home. That plan is on hold, as the location is not conducive to ferrying around two children with hectic social lives. On the other hand, its position – reached via a forest track that climbs into the sky to soar above the Tay Valley – provides just the escapism holidaymakers desire.
Potential marauders of Taymouth Castle (home of the Dukes of Breadalbane) could be spotted miles from this tower, built as a lookout in 1506. Over 500 years later it has changed hands just a few times.
When the original Breadalbane estate – comprising some 450,000 acres – was broken up, this tower became part of a smaller holding. The owner used the building as a gamekeeper's lodge, then a holiday let. During this period the tower was modernised in a not altogether sensitive manner and by the time Eric and Naomi came along, it was in bad shape.
"It was riddled with rot and damp," says Eric. The only positive was that services such as electricity and water were in place.
Eric's professional know-how helped steer the project through official channels associated with the renovation of a listed, historic structure, and the work stayed true to the original building; for example, lime harling was used on the exterior walls.
One of the biggest tasks was the removal of the rot-infested flat roof. A constant leak had saturated walls and it had to go. Even Eric admits it was depressing to see the tower minus its roof, with walls peeled back to plaster lathes on the first floor.
However, this provided an opportunity to raise its replacement by a metre, which Historic Scotland eventually agreed to.
"Previously there was no access to the parapet," explains Eric, who was keen to create a feature terrace – a staircase from the master bedroom now leads up to it. It's not unreasonable to wonder what 16th-century Tay valley residents would make of the hot tub now ensconced within the parapets.
The roof required steel reinforcement in preparation for the tub's arrival, the latter executed with the help of a crane. Invisible from the exterior, the tub provides the luxury 21st-century guests expect from a five-star residence (the tower also has a sauna).
"It's like a planetarium up there at night, under a blanket of stars," says Eric, who also points out that this is the last place in the valley to catch the evening sun.
The couple instated a flagpole, and Naomi is astounded by the number of Saltires they have gone through since then. Flags weather quickly on this elevated, exposed site. Indeed, the tower's position caused several delays during the renovation, with heavy snow making it impossible for tradesmen to get vans up the mile-long forest track in the winter.
"On windy days," continues Eric, "it was too risky to work from the scaffold that went up around the building."
Back inside, all the walls were re-plastered. Another challenge was posed by the layout of rooms – as Eric explains, "In a tower you pass through one room to get to another."
Reaching the main bedroom via another, smaller bedroom, wasn't at all practical, so the smaller space has been reinterpreted as a quirky library, complete with leather winged armchair and built-in bookshelves. One of the beautiful arched windows here frames a bird's-eye view of the valley.
"The library just fitted in with the whole idea of escapism," Eric says. The couple spent many weekends on site, helping out, and Naomi, a graphic designer, had immense fun with the interiors. The structure had been modified in the Victorian era, with gothic revival features such as arched windows and castellated parapets, so they decided to tone down the effect.
"We considered a Gothic interior," Naomi says, "but we felt that too many boldly coloured walls might have restricted the tower's appeal."
A neutral palette creates a clean, airy feel, but the gothic influence is felt in other choices, such as bold red and gold curtains and an ornate bed in the master bedroom. The second bedroom is housed in what was previously a bathroom; with plumbing in place the couple created an en suite behind the sleeping area. In fact, the tower is well equipped with washing facilities; a shower is tucked beside the sauna, while a bathroom beside the master bedroom has a Victorian feel with brick effect wall tiles, a wall-mounted cistern and roll-top canopied bath. Like all tiled surfaces in the tower, this floor has the luxury of under- floor heating.
Subtle use of tartan and tweed works well in the traditional setting, while quirky finds, such as some characterful antique cabinets and a stag table light, make rooms feel individual. New traditional timber latch doors were custom-made to fit some awkward angles, and over the sitting-room door hangs a set of cattle horns.
"It was fun shopping for things we wouldn't necessarily have in our own home," says Naomi.
The kitchen (from Ashley Ann in Perth) includes ample space for a dining table. Open the glazed doors from this space and you enter a new external terrace with white castellated walls that Eric designed to blend in seamlessly with the tower.
From their own home in the valley Eric and Naomi love to see lights flickering up at The White Tower.
"It's popular with honeymooners," says Eric. So popular it is, in fact, that he and Naomi have not yet managed to check in and spend a night there themselves.
• For more information, tel: 01887 829228, or visit www.thewhitetower.co.uk
