In his daily walks up the lane called the “Cobble,” a man from Scotland came across an abandoned small stone cottage located in the area where he spent his childhood. The dilapidated structure, which had been left for 50 years, looked tired and worn, but something about it caught his attention. George Dunnett, a video editor and YouTube content creator, thought that converting it into a proper home would be fantastic. He decided to buy the abandoned stone cottage and transform it into his dream home.
Located on the Cobbles lane, George would pass by the little stone cottage frequently. He pointed out that there were three deserted or unused structures in the area. The first was a small stone cottage whose former occupants and contents remained a mystery. Next to it was a small cottage that had yet to be abandoned but was unoccupied and now serves as a museum honoring the 1700s poet Michael Bruce. Lastly, there was the little stone cottage with two stories that was formerly used as storage.
The previous owner of the cottage removed everything, leaving just the rough walls, broken floors, a large sliding door that could not be used, and a stair that must be removed. “There was a lot of structural work that had to be done before I was at the stage of picking out my curtains,” he said.
The renovation started with laying out the walls and restoring the original fireplaces using brick and cement. A new brick stack was added to the bedroom window frame, and the same was done on the second story. They also raised the ceiling to make some more space.
After repairing the ground and mud floor downstairs with concrete, and installing the insulation, George said he immediately noticed the difference in the building’s coziness. Meanwhile, the builder discovered the roof was terrible upon inspection, causing him to spend more money on scaffolding and repairs. The roof repairs needed repointing the stonework, which breathed new life into the structure.
After that, things started to take shape inside. George noted that the stone cottage has begun to resemble a natural home since they finished installing the insulation. Plasterboard gave the stone cottage’s interior a more finished look, allowing him to visualize the rooms’ future functions. Before installing the sashing window casing, the bedroom felt like a prison cell.
George says he and his mother painted the house together and chose white for the walls and trim because he wanted the atmosphere to be “light and cheery,” but he added some blue-gray accent walls in the bathroom and bedroom to make it more interesting.
Meanwhile, the addition of the oak flooring made a considerable difference to the aesthetic appeal of his home. The last bit of work done inside was the installation of a metal stair railing by a local blacksmith. Meanwhile, George’s father laid the final cobblestones in front of the stone house for the exterior’s finishing touch. It was his father’s first time laying cobbles, but George thought he did a fantastic job. Moreover, the transformation was well worth the nearly year-long effort.
Inside, the old photos of the stone cottage hang in frames by his bedroom door. George opted for a low-down bed, which gives his bedroom a minimalist but elegant look. He also used the space under the room’s windows for his little closet and some cabinets.
The bathroom is spacious despite its minimal design, with a full shower, toilet, basin, mirror, and frosted window. George also chose oak for the staircase to complement the hardwood flooring and installed a Velux roof window above it to let more natural light come in. Going up, there is a little bookshelf near the stairwell, but George said he had not read any of those books yet.
His work desk is tucked away in a nook next to the railings, facing the living room. The second