A former train station has been crowned Scotland’s Home of the Year 2023.
The Old Train House in Edinburgh beat five other finalists to be named the winner of the popular property programme.
A former manse in Auchterarder and a contemporary stone and timber home near St Cyrus were among the other shortlisted properties.
The winner was announced in the finale of the BBC Scotland series, filmed at Glasgow’s House for an Art Lover.
The Old Train House had been boarded up and empty for more than a decade before Christina and Ben Blundell converted it into their dream home.
Scotland’s Home of the Year
Christina said: “Winning was a genuine shock and we’re bursting with pride.
“Ben and I entered with no expectations other than going along for the ride.
“We did not anticipate in any way that we’d be taking the trophy home that day, particularly when we got to see all the other fabulous finalists homes.
“As the final was filmed last summer, the SHOTY trophy has been sadly tucked away while we’ve kept the secret of winning to ourselves.
“All of the finalists are a lovely bunch. I couldn’t pick a favourite home among them. They each have an individual and special quality.
“I’m glad the judging wasn’t up to me!”
SHOTY judge and interior designer Anna Campbell Jones says the the Old Train House in Edinburgh home is a very worthy winner of the prestigious title.
“The Old Train House expresses the ultimate in adaptation and reuse, themes that are so important these days.
“The whole building was upcycled, transformed from a sad ruined train station to a very real home.
“I loved the balance of respect for the history of the building, clever use of bargain vintage finds and appropriate materials both for the age of the building and for its function as warm, fun family home.
“I thought the upside-down living worked so well, keeping the light spaces for daytime and the darker, quiet, more private spaces for sleeping in.
“The scene stealer was the old railway platform transformed into a magical plant filled, tree canopied terrace.”
Hard work rewarded
Winning SHOTY was a validation of all the hard work Christina and Ben put into the project. “We are so immensely proud of what we’ve achieved,” Christina continued.
“Neither of us are designers or builders or architects or had a large budget, we just had a vision for what this building could be for us.
“I feel like it’s all the more meaningful because we got the building warrant through for all the alterations the day before lockdown in 2020, so for months we were in this, quite honestly, awful and depressing house at a time when you couldn’t leave your house and it felt a world away from being a home.
“It made us determined to see it through and make this building into a home.”
Shortlisted properties include Snowdrop House
A Old Manse in Auchterarder was one of the six properties to make the final.
The handsome house was the winner of the third episode, which featured houses in the central belt.
The handsome period house was stunningly upgraded by Kelly and Michel Hillard. They knocked through a wall to create a wonderful open plan kitchen/diner that takes full advantage of views over the enormous walled garden.
Judge Banjo Beale said of the Old Manse: “If I could change one thing it would be replacing the owners with myself.”
A striking new build house near St Cyrus in Aberdeenshire also reached the final six. Snowdrop House is a stunning contemporary home clad in stone and timber. It was built by property developer Ross and his partner Emily.
Originally Ross planned to build three homes on the plot and sell them for a profit. However he and Emily fell in love with the site and decided to build their own dream home instead.
Judges loved the grand scale of the rooms and the huge windows that frame the superb coastal views.
A sixth season of Scotland’s Home of the Year is currently filming in locations across Scotland.
- The fifth season of Scotland’s Home of the Year is available on BBC iPlayer.
