BARBARA and Bill Leonard were planning to downsize when they happened across the charms of Keir Heights.
Having spent most of their married life in Aberdeen’s Bridge of Don, and with two grown-up sons long since flown the nest, the couple were actually looking for a bungalow.
But when they came across the lovely, spacious accommodation available in this Balmedie development, they couldn’t resist the lure of the big five-bedroom home with a woodland backdrop.
Barbara, 62, who formerly ran a Tupperware franchise with her husband, Bill, 64, has decorated and styled the home to a high standard.
She said: “We’ve been here ever since the property was built 11 years ago. We sold the business seven years ago, so until then I was always busy travelling all over the place.
“I never really had the chance to appreciate my home. Now I have had the time to enjoy it, I’ve taken care of decorating it.”
And Barbara has done a sterling job, opting for neutral colours throughout the impressive home.
It’s meant she can swap her soft furnishings and accessories whenever she fancies a change, and transform her colour scheme with a minimum of fuss.
Her striking lounge has lovely touches of teal throughout from cushions to flowers, while the kitchen has a funky and modern look all of its own.
It has a feature wall with a contemporary rose-print pattern adding some extra style to the room.
Barbara says her sons Graham, 42, and Scott, 35, “keep her right” when it comes to decorating, but most of the ideas have all been her own.
“I have been used to having a big lounge, so when we moved in we changed the lounge/ dining room that was here into one big lounge.
“Then we added the sun lounge in 2004 which became our dining area.
“I’ve swapped it over a couple of times and made the sun lounge into a sitting room, when I’ve fancied a change.”
As proud grandparents to four little ones, Barbara and Bill, now a taxi driver, have enjoyed opening up their home for family occasions over the years.
Barbara loves to cook and has spent a lot of time in her favourite room – the big bright kitchen.
And they have enjoyed sitting out on their decked area on summer evenings.
Now finally on the lookout for their dream bungalow at last, Barbara is ready to say goodbye to Balmedie.
“It’s been a great place to live as everything is five minutes away, and the beach is right on our doorstep.
“I’ve often taken our Shih Tzu Katey down there to run around and it’s been great having it so close.
“We might end up moving to different part of Aberdeen now when we downsize at last.”