Best of both worlds for the De Filippi family

Surrounded by woodland, fields and countryside walks, the De Filippi family have swapped city living for Aberdeenshire and found their forever home in Banchory.

Filippo and Katrine, who are parents to their two-year-old daughter, knew straight away that Bancon Homes’ Lochside of Leys development in the Deeside town was where they wanted to put down roots and raise their family.

This new community offers high-specification, energy-efficient homes designed to complement the beauty of their surroundings.

Residents benefit from both tranquillity and convenience, with the option of popping to a shop or café or pulling on wellies and exploring the local countryside.

Filippo and Katrine both love the outdoors so the location was a key factor when deciding where to live, while taking advantage of Bancon Homes’ part-exchange offer made moving much easier.

They chose a four-bed Knockburn style house and love its spacious layout, with an open plan kitchen-diner and French doors leading out to the garden, plus a completely separate living room for relaxing and family nights in front of the TV.

“We knew we wanted to move to Aberdeenshire and we’ve always liked Banchory,” said Filippo. “We had planned to move in the spring or summer of this year but I went to see Lochside of Leys and went home to tell Katrine how nice it was. We weren’t thinking of moving quite so soon but it was a great opportunity and we both fell in love with the house.

“The main thing that appealed to us was the location. We loved Banchory and the lifestyle and amenities it offers. Our daughter’s nursery is just around the corner and looking ahead, her primary school is also close by so she’ll have friends around too.

“We’re both into the outdoors and as a family, we tend to go on walks most every weekend and as the nights get longer, we’ll go for evening walks as well. And I’m a keen hillwalker too, so that’s also a big draw for me.”

As Filippo is sometimes away with work as a chief officer on a wind farm support vessel, the quiet location and community feel was important to Katrine, who works as a contracts engineer in the energy sector.

“We’re surrounded by fields and woodland, which is really nice and relaxing and just calm and so quiet. We have a great view of farmland from upstairs and it’s really great for us,” she said. “Having a larger garden was also important for having children and we love the size of the outside space.”

The family have a guest bedroom and currently use the fourth as a home office.

“We love the fact all the bedrooms are spacious because the second and third rooms in our last house were cramped,” said Filippo. “Here all the bedrooms are big doubles and a great size for our daughter – plus they all have built-in oak finish wardrobes, which is amazing.

“The overall finish has been superb. We really like all the integrated Siemens kitchen appliances, which are fantastic quality and easy to use.”

The couple previously lived in a flat then bought a new-build house in Cove, Aberdeen, but decided they needed more space for their expanding family.

“The house in Cove was an intermediate home for us but now we are in Lochside of Leys we’re not planning to move again,” said Filippo.

“We did part-exchange with Bancon Homes, which was absolutely superb. They supported us all the way through, organised the marketing, the survey, the photographs – it took away so much of the stress of moving. We got the keys on the Friday but still had access to the other house until the Saturday afternoon, which was a huge advantage.

“Bancon were so helpful and accommodating. Everyone we have dealt with has been so supportive, it made moving easy. We have nothing but praise for Bancon Homes and if anyone is thinking about a move, we’d say go for it. We have found our forever home.”

Lochside of Leys has a limited number of homes left for sale, with prices starting from £404,995 for a four-bed Brathen style house.

For more information on Lochside of Leys, email sales@bancon.co.uk or call 01224 900142. The show home is open from 10am to 7pm on Thursdays and 10am to 5pm, Friday to Monday.

Photos by Ross Johnston/Newsline Media