\n An Edinburgh bungalow conversion is in the running for Scotland’s Home of the Year (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n Emily, a horticulturalist and Professor of Timber Engineering, Robert brought their skills together to fulfil a sustainable modernisation of their mid-century home, which they have completed over 14 years.\n<\/p>\n
\n Although Emily admits she hated the house at first, their combined vision has created their perfect family home, heavily influenced by timber technologies.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It was awful,” said Emily, reflecting on her first impression of the property.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It’s a 1950s build bungalow but being really blunt the lady who lived here previously was in her eighties and I think the house hadn’t been decorated since the 1980s.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It was like patterned rugs that meshed up against other patterned rugs and patterned wallpaper and it was really dark. It was absolutely not my thing but my then boyfriend, now husband, loved it.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The plot is quite large because it’s on a main road so he saw the potential in the garden and he knew that the building had good bones and clearly he was right although I hate to admit that.”\n<\/p>\n
\n “We’ve turned it back to front,” added Robert. “The kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms were to the rear of the property and the dining space and main living area were to the front.\n<\/p>\n
\n Emily and Robert have spent 14 years expanding their home (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n “We completely repurposed it, flipped it round to essentially rip the guts out of the house.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I think the main thing we are passionate about is the honesty of the structure, in terms of how we’ve kept surfaces exposed.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The renovations have taken 14 years to complete (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n Much of the ground floor is now an airy, open-plan family living and kitchen space, along with two bedrooms and the main bathroom.\n<\/p>\n
\n The judges are impressed by the colour scheme and different zones (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n Upstairs there is another bedroom, shower room, WC and office space.\n<\/p>\n
\n “When we first bought it, in 2011, we just thought we would modernise it but it grew arms and legs,” said Emily.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We’ve done three phases of construction on the house one of which was converting the attic into an upstairs.”\n<\/p>\n
\n She said they did their best to do as much of the work on the house as they could themselves to cut costs.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “We did all the painting and sanded and varnished the floors. My husband even did some of the plastering.\n<\/p>\n
\n Scotland’s Home of the Year kicks off on Monday (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n “Building extensions is never the most cost-friendly exercise but doing it over 10 years has spread the pain of it.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Owners are asked to place a heart in their favourite part of the house and the couple opt for a seated area in the living space that is filled with plants and flooded by light.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We put the heart in an area we call the Sun Room,” she said. “It’s a really wonderful place to be, especially in the Summer when we open lots of windows.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Sun Room is a favourite part of the house (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n “It’s very much like an indoor outdoor space.\n<\/p>\n
\n “What I love about the house is that there are different zones for different things,” added Emily.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The breakfast bar was built as a baking area so the kids and I could all have a side to access stuff. It’s where we sit a lot of the time. ”\n<\/p>\n
\n The stairwell leads to a new attic space (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n She said the most challenging part of their renovations was waiting for the glass to arrive for the windows, some of which are floor to ceiling.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Even when renovations are straightforward they are not straightforward,” she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Anybody who watches Grand Designs know there is always a delay with glass.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We had our wedding reception in the house at that time and we expected it to be done and it wasn’t. We made the best of it.\n<\/p>\n
\n “The neighbours probably think we are totally bonkers. They have kind of seen us grow up here.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We bought the house, then they watched us get married and then they saw the kids coming along. They’ve seen our whole existence coming into the house.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Emily said it was a “total dream” to appear on Scotland’s Home of the Year.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “It’s so cool. I assume like everybody else who goes on it, you watch it, you love it and you dream about being on it at some point.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It was years of saying ‘once we are done with the house we’ll apply’ and then we did.\n<\/p>\n
\n The property is flooded with light (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n “It’s the weirdest feeling having no idea what the judges have said about our home.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Now that the home is complete she said their focus has turned to the garden, which already has a wildflower meadow and bringing in more renewable technology into the property.\n<\/p>\n
\n “There’s a lot to take in, and I want all of it,” says Anna Campbell-Jones admiring the timber ceiling, which is made up of wood of varying widths and lengths.\n<\/p>\n
\n The ‘SHOTY’ judges (Image: BBC Scotland)\n<\/p>\n
\n “I absolutely love every bit of it. There’s a really refreshing carelessness about this home but it’s actually been put together really carefully.”\n<\/p>\n
\n “It’s not cookie-cutter,” adds Banjo Beale, “It’s just really interesting. It’s not just lovely to look at, it’s the feeling you get when you are in here.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It’s a haven for health and happiness.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Standing outside in the garden and taking in the whole house, architect Danny Campbell said: “This is absolute chaos but it’s beautiful chaos.\n<\/p>\n
\n “If you look at the three different extensions, it does look like they’ve been built at different times by the way they have weathered but I think that just shows how a building can grow organically and slowly over time.\n<\/p>\n
\n “This home is a masterclass in slow design. Every inch feels like it’s been shaped by the people who live here.”\n<\/p>\n