One of the primary aims for any property owner is to make their house a loving home, and there's no shortage of this on BBC Scotland's Home of the Year in 2022.
Next week will see the induction of three new homes into the running for Scotland's Home of the Year, with two from Edinburgh and one in Midlothian.
TV and Showbiz reporter Abbie Meehan caught up with homeowners David and Jean Short before their appearance on the popular property programme next week.
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The couple's property dates back to around 1760 and, over the 40 years David and Jean have lived in Bellsmains, they’ve extended the building on three different occasions.
Set in a rural landscape, Bellsmains marries together the traditional alongside modern interiors, with views of the garden acting as focal points throughout the home.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, David spoke of the couple's inspirations to go on the show in the first place, saying: "We’ve watched the show since its beginning, and it was kind of a spur of the moment thing!
“We’d just finished most of the work, and we’d just finished an episode when the credits came up.
“The final credit was the email to apply for the show, my wife had just gone to bed so I just thought, might as well! I had a few photos of the home so I just sent them off and here we are.”
“We also wanted to apply because it’s a really nice family show and there’s not any mean comments etc on social media, and it’s about someone's personal tastes of their own home.
“We really like our house because it’s a home, and that’s what this programme is all about - it was a bit of a spur of the moment thing but we’re really glad we participated.”
The home has been around for hundreds of years, but has come to life in recent decades thanks to David and Jean's ideas to extend.
David continued: "We’ve been here for around 40 years, it was originally half of an old barnhouse, and at the time it was only a two-bed.
“So we extended first off to create a bigger, family-orientated space for us then we extended ten years later to give us another bedroom.
“The most recent one was to give us a better view of our garden, and the idea was to give us more of an open-plan living space downstairs."
When designing the home, the couple pulled creativity from across the globe, with David confirming that due to his taste in bold artwork, the colour within the home was solidified.
He added: "I am a really big fan of bold artwork as well, and in lots of ways the house is rather plain with colour, but I think the artwork gives it an uplift.
"We have travelled a lot and collected a lot of art during the years, and I think that's very much a part of what makes the house our home, in a sense."
You can watch David and Jean on BBC Scotland's Home of the Year, and see their house in full detail on Monday, May 9 at 8:30pm.
