IMAGINE coming home to your much-treasured property to find the roof missing and the wind blowing a gale above you.
That’s exactly what happened to Daphne and Frans Maes four years ago.
But the couple – who were in the process of thoroughly renovating the house on Duthie Terrace – found a way to turn the situation to their advantage.
“We bought the property in 2003 and renovated it in 2005,” said Daphne, a 45-year-old junior project manager for Logica.
“We were attracted by the potential for development as it was a detached house in a nice area with a large garden.
“It used to be a chalet bungalow so we planned to gable out the ends to make the roof steeper, move the staircase and put in the new upstairs.”
But Daphne and Frans, 50 – who are parents to three-year-old Anthea – didn’t bank on the elements disrupting their plans.
“The builders had taken the roof off and secured everything with tarpaulin.
“We hadn’t intended redoing all the interior ceilings, but there was some really bad weather and we came home to find all the ceilings lying on the floor.
“It turned into a blessing in disguise, though, because it meant we could make everything new and with a smoother finish so it’s much better than before.
“In fact, when you’ve completed a project like this, these are all the traumatic things you forget about!
“You’re left with a great feeling of ‘Look what I did – I turned that into THAT!’”
Not only have the new ceilings been fully-insulated to modern, top-of-the-range standards, Daphne and Frans, who is technical director for JCE, took care to faithfully recreate the original cornicing work.
Today the house is a stunning work of design, managing to be both modern and bright, yet cosy and homely at the same time.
Originally from Belfast, Daphne has been in Aberdeen for 22 years and in 2007 she married Frans, who is originally from Holland but settled in Aberdeen 30 years ago.
They have decorated the property throughout in lovely magnolia tones which set off the stylish Pergo floor running from the kitchen into a smart family area.
And while the lounge has a lovely coal-effect feature fireplace, the truly special space is the open-plan family area.
It is set off perfectly by a wood-burning stove set in a granite fireplace.
Daphne said: “It’s great because depending on your mood you can relax in the bright family area – looking into the garden – with its hard floors and bright walls.
“Or if you prefer something cosier, there’s the carpeted lounge with the feature fireplace at the front of the house.”
This property is ready to move into and all a new owner would have to do is simply arrive, turn on the fire and relax.
The Maes’ on the other hand are off to finish a new project – provided the weather doesn’t interfere!