Borders home reaches final of BBC television show Scotland’s Home of the Year

A Kelso house has become the first in the series to reach the final of this year’s Scotland’s Home of the Year television show.
Cathy Copson appearing on BBC Scotland programme Scotland's Home of the Year last week.Cathy Copson appearing on BBC Scotland programme Scotland's Home of the Year last week.
Cathy Copson appearing on BBC Scotland programme Scotland's Home of the Year last week.

Cathy Copson’s former Victorian girls’ school-turned- family home in the Forestfield area of Kelso, was one of three in the Borders and South of Scotland to feature on the BBC Scotland programme on Wednesday night.

In the first episode of the show’s second series, Cathy explains how she moved to the Borders from London three years ago and spent nine months renovating the derelict building for her and her five-year-old son Jude and their cockapoo Betty.

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And the three-storey building which she turned into a modern three-bedroom and three-bathroom house, proved popular with judges, architect Michael Angus, interior designer Anna Campbell-Jones and lifestyle blogger Kate Spiers.

Cathy, a property consultant, said: “I lived in London for 20 years and it was time for a change so I headed up here to look for properties. There were actually four for sale on this road and this was the only one that wasn’t on the internet so I hadn’t booked a viewing. It was a complete wreck and I fell in love with it. It all just happened really quickly after that and looking back it was a full-on overhaul.

I had done cosmetic changes before but this was a new roof, new windows, new electrics...we had to get a stonemason in.

“It was a process of restoring her to her former glory but actually making it relevant to how we wanted to live.

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“I’m not an interior designer, I am an amateur if anything, but what I like about how it’s all come together is how it’s a very light, calm, contemporary space but it retains pretty much all the features of the traditional property.”

Cathy’s home was up against two other others – a cliff top home near Dalbeattie and a converted grain mill in Eyemouth – in the opening episode last week.

However judges were quick to praise Jude’s eye-catching bedroom and the sprawling basement kitchen, giving it a near perfect score of 27 points from a possible 30, meaning the Kelso home will now feature in the national final in nine-weeks time.

Scotland’s Home of the Year returns to BBC Scotland tomorrow at 8pm