Shining example

IF YOU'RE A GOLFER, YOU'LL know the misery of being unable to play, due to awful weather or work commitments. However, it's even more torturous if you can see a 500-acre course, with views to the Firth of Forth and the coast of Fife, from your window. It's something that Graham Forrest, owner of Fidra Developments and resident of their first build at Archerfield Village, East Lothian, is getting used to.

"My 14-year-old son and I love to play golf, and our house backs onto Archerfield Links Golf Course. However, because of building and designing our house, and the newer showhomes on our five plots of land, I've been too busy to play," he says. "When I come home from work, I look out the window at the course, but I have a pile of work to do. It's frustrating; I've only had two games in the last two months."

Still, he won't grumble too much, as he has a beautiful new home for his family (wife Audrey and two children) to compensate. Before he decided to buy a plot of adjacent land, Graham had been a member of the golf course for a year. It then took months of paperwork, including planning permission and building warrants, before the first brick could be laid.

"It did drag on before we could actually get up and running and start to build," he says. "We took the standard house type – there are about 13 to 15 house types allowed in the area – and designed the internal layout with the help of our architect."

Then, once the building was completed, the process of shopping for every fixture and fitting began.

"It was such a huge project," says Audrey. "We had to choose everything, from door-handles and socket plates to tiles and duvet covers."

A year-and-a-half later and, as you make your way up the stairs into their contemporary reception room, the hard work seems worth it. The traditional-looking pine staircase is the focus here – the design of which is accentuated by a twisting modern chandelier dropping into the stairwell. Then, just in case you were in any doubt about whether this truly was an "executive" build or not – there's the prerequisite piano, situated by the upstairs window so you can gaze out at the green, while tinkling the ivories.

"The piano is my favourite piece of furniture," says Audrey. "My daughter and I play all the time."

Thankfully, they haven't gone for an Elton John-style white baby grand – understated black is their much more stylish choice. Another glamorous mod-con incorporated into this new build is the must-have home cinema. This low-ceilinged windowless upstairs room is furnished with a huge screen and fibre optic ceiling lights.

"We have a projector with a large screen and we watch movies or play with the PlayStation and Wii in there," says Audrey. "The kids also use it as a play area."

Downstairs, and the modernist look continues. The ground floor kitchen is all black surfaces, with leather and chrome bar stools dotted around an island. With its family appeal, this is Audrey's most prized space.

"The kitchen, or orangery, is our favourite and most used room," she says. "The luxury kitchen is by Poggenpohl and is a combination of black high gloss, aluminium and glass with state-of-the-art Gaggenau, Miele and Wolf appliances."

However, although he also spends most of his time in the kitchen, it's the bathroom that's the pièce de résistance for Graham – "we wanted a huge one", he says. Surrounded by enough floor space to chuck a thousand wet towels, an angular bath takes centre stage, alongside a huge walk-in shower. Although the bath, surrounded by a trough filled with smooth white pebbles, is an unusual piece, it was sourced locally.

"It looks hard-to-find," says Graham. "However, it came as a kit which included a box full of pebbles, from Bathroom Planet in Edinburgh."

In fact, the couple didn't have to go too far afield for anything. Almost everything was found in Scottish shops and sourced from local suppliers.

"We went through thousands of magazines," says Graham. "We cut out every idea and kept them all in a scrap book which we kept referring to. We were surprised that we didn't have to go south for much."

The Forrests weren't on their own when it came to ideas. They also enlisted the help of an interior designer – Vikki Graham from Aura Interiors in Falkirk.

"Vikki advised us when it came to soft furnishings and textiles," says Audrey. "Most of the throws, cushions and fabrics she chose were from Designers Guild and the wallpapers were by Ulf Moritz, Harlequin and Tektura."

Not everything was new – a few bits and pieces were leftovers from the last place they lived in. These include the enormous red sofa, which can seat about 15 people and now has pride of place in the main living room.

So, if you like golf and have got a cool million and a half to spend on a house in Archerfield Village, you can expect all the trimmings (apart from the huge red sofa) in any of their five new developments.

"We love living here so much that we have bought these plots and are building more houses to sell," Audrey says. "They'll be built to a very high standard and include many of the luxuries we have in our own home."

For more about the development at Archerfield Village, tel: [phone] or visit www.struttandparker.co.uk