The Scottish Highlands are known for many things, among them their beautiful and breathtaking natural landscapes, Loch Ness and its mythical occupant, and whiskey (there are, in fact, an impressive 47 distilleries in the region). But contemporary architecture is not necessarily something that comes to mind. We’re all the more excited, then, by this home on the shores of Glenelg, which came on the market earlier this week.

Let’s set the scene: we’re at a beachside location quite like no other, up in Glenelg, from which there are views across the sea to the Isles of Skye and Eigg. At times, this rural area is both wild and otherworldly. Glance at the star-filled night sky and you might just catch the mesmerising Milky Way or Northern Lights dancing above. Daytime is similarly exquisite, with spectacular panoramic scenes of the surrounding mountains; sea eagles and buzzards fly in the sky, while dolphins and pilot whales pass in the deep water.

If anyone was going to build a home here, then there might not be a better team for the job than Rural Design. The practice’s expertise lies in designing Highland dwellings: based on the Isle of Skye, they are the largest in the region. Along with residential buildings, they have completed a spectrum of projects – including commercial, conservation and community – since they launched in 2003.

This particular home is a leading example of Rural Design’s signature style of work – one that’s both progressive and sensitive, contemporary and timeless. It’s composed of two single-storey structures, the house and the bothy, and is one of the practice’s most recent projects, having only been conceived in 2021. The design was inspired by the raw West Highland agricultural vernacular, but also Scandinavian modernism. Its cabin-like façade wouldn’t look out of place in a Finnish forest ringed by giant evergreens.

The home’s structure has been built predominately using larch, while corrugated metal sits on its top. The interior is equally minimal, with white walls and engineered-oak floors making up the palette. Who needs colour, when you’ve floor-to-ceiling glazing to reveal nature’s shifting shades of green, yellow and blue? Next door, the bothy is something of a younger sibling: smaller in size, but sharing the same decorative genes as the main living quarters.

Someone aspiring to live among nature is likely to have a love for it, too. Thankfully, the house has been built with the environment in mind. It’s positioned on a north-south axis to maximise solar gain in the colder months, when the sun is lower in the sky, and its bespoke timber system means the house is heavily insulated and naturally warm.

Foodies can rejoice too, for what the immediate area might lack in restaurants, it more than makes up for in fresh produce. Firstly, mobile butchers and fishmongers are regular guests, making the weekly shop that bit easier. The delightful nearby market garden, Cosaig Growers, sells beautiful veggies and flowers, all while ensuring the soil they use is as healthy as can be. But arguably the most satisfying meal will come after foraging for it yourself. An afternoon well spent on the beach can result in a dinner of barbequed razor clams and cockles, which are in abundance all year round. Yes, please.