Hawick house makes final of BBC TV's Scotland's Home of the Year show

The house one of nine homes covering the length and breadth of Scotland that made it into the grand final of the popular BBC Scotland programme.

The homes were chosen by judges – interior designer Anna Campbell-Jones, architect and lecturer Michael Angus and lifestyle blogger Kate Spiers.

And over the past nine-weeks viewers have been fawning over the interiors and exteriors of some beautiful buildings throughout the country.

Dating from the 1850s, Firestation House is a C-listed building situated in the heart of Hawick and is home to Sheena, John and their dog, Teddy.

Sheena added: “From outside our house looks like two cottages but once you are inside it’s modern so it kind of hides what’s inside. People are quire surprised when they walk in. But that’s the way we wanted to have it, We wanted it to be light and spacious.”

John added: “When we bought the house it was just a church hall. The minute we walked in we loved the building. And we still love the building. It’s a great home and it will be our home forever.”

The judges clearly also loved the building and Campbell-Jones said: “There’s some kind of extra bit of interest when you try to make a building that was never intended to be a home into a home.

"And yet when we walked into this building you got a really strong sense of home. It did have a very serene atmosphere for a house that was built for drama. And the light was beautiful and narrow as well.

"I felt that some of the spaces felt a little generic in terms of their interior scheme.

“They’ve misses a potential to be inspired in their interior choices, not only by their own interests but also by the history of the building which isn’t reflected in the way they have designed the interior.”

Interior designer Anna Campbell-Jones, architect and lecturer Michael Angus and lifestyle blogger Kate Spiers.

Spiers added: “For me it was the muted colour pallet. Instantly I felt quite soothed. It was very relaxing and well laid out even though it had separate zones with two staircases.

"It felt like it flowed quite nicely. The two different zones were what made me love it and I thought it was an interesting building and I could picture myself spending a weekend there but I’m not too sure I could live there. It needed to be a little bit more punchy for me.”

And Angus added: “What struck me about the building was that I felt that it was being rewarded for service rendered, like it had done all its work putting out fires and saving lives. And it was now being retired and taking on the next chapter of its life.”

After a lengthy discussion the judges decided that the winner was New Tolsta, the home of artist Tom Hickman in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis which was their unanimous choice  following the hour-long finale.

A fifth series of Scotland’s Home Of The Year begins filming later this month. Applications to take part are open until June 10 at www.bbc.co.uk/shoty.