Skip to content

Scotland's Home of the Year winner announced

BBC Train HouseBBC
The Old Train House lay empty for 10 years before being renovated

The Old Train House in Edinburgh has been crowned Scotland's Home of the Year 2023.

It was one of six regional finalists in the popular BBC Scotland TV series.

This year's search showcased a variety of home styles including quirky conversions, grand designs, period renovations and bijou pads.

The Old Train House was empty for 10 years before Christina Blundell and husband Ben transformed it into a family home.

Inside, their eclectic tastes can be seen, as well as their desire to be sustainable with second-hand furnishing.

There are nods to the building's past including graffiti on the garden walls, giving it a unique style.

Old Train House
The judges described the winning house as a unique family home
Old Train House
The building was transformed from an abandoned train station into a "very real home"

Owner 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."

The other finalists were:

  • Snowdrop House in St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire
  • The Old Manse in Auchterarder, Perthshire
  • Manor House in Peebles
  • Lochbay on the Isle of Skye
  • Kirklee Mansion in Glasgow

The show's judges - interior designers Anna Campbell-Jones and Banjo Beale and architect and lecturer Michael Angus - described The Old Train House as a unique and welcoming family home.

Christina Blundell and husband Ben
Christina Blundell and husband Ben are congratulated by the show's judges

Anna Campbell Jones said: "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."

Banjo Beale said: "It's hard to pick one thing about Old Train House which made it unique because it had that elusive, hard to define and harder to create feeling of home."

Fellow judge Michael Angus added: "It was that indefinable thing, that lifted the Old Train up above the rest. Some curious blend of components, of building, fabric, place, time, that come together somehow, to imbue a home with a certain overall quality that is truly, home."