About Blacksheep House

The story

A beautifully renovated and modernised blackhouse with fantastic views only metres from the shore.  Very spacious with open plan living area and vast panoramic windows giving 180 degrees of stunning views.  The house features a turf roof, metre thick stone walls, an exposed timber frame, slate floors with underfloor heating, Japanese style soak tub (big enough for 2) with shower, fully equipped kitchen, a double bedroom and a unique sleeping platform with views across the Sound of Harris.

Blacksheep House is a contemporary renovation and extension of a traditional Blackhouse.   The house was built with the intention of using as much of the existing stonework as possible and creating as little visual impact as possible.  Starting with three remaining 1 metre thick walls it was reshaped and extended.  This was very much as a hands-on self build by the previous owners one of whom was a dry stone dyker by trade and fully capable of taking on such a ambitious project.

Craftsman joinery was carried out by a local builder, Reuben Miles, who created an amazing frame of curves and intersections made from Douglas Fir.  Traditional V-lining alongside the expert plasterwork of Lewisman, Billy Macleod, gave the building a great internal balance.  With views across the water to the hills and the South of Harris it is completely unique.  The house has a turf roof.  It has underfloor heating run by an exhaust air heat pump, slate floor throughout and a Gaudiesk tiled bathroom.  The furnishings are luxurious and contemporary, complementing the open plan design, organic curves and liberating sense of space.  The architect was Stuart Bagshaw.  In an age where system and kit building define how we live, Blacksheep House’s individual organic construction is both a surprise and a delight.