Tour the Edinburgh winner of the BBC’s Scotland's Home of the Year 2023

Interior designer Anna Campbell Jones, architect and lecturer Michael Angus and guest judge Banjo Beale have been seen on television over the last few weeks touring and scoring flats and houses across the county in a series of weekly programmes on BBC1 every Monday at 8.30pm.

The first six programmes saw them looking at three properties from different parts of Scotland - east, west, central, Highlands and Islands, south, and the north east - with one winning through to the final each week.

Last night saw the judges decide who would win from the six Scotland-wide contenders.

A quirky Victorian renovation called the Old Train House, in Scotland’s Capital, was the first to be put through to the final – being awarded full marks for architectural merit, distinctive design and original style - and proved to be the overall winner.

The property is home to Christina, husband Ben, daughter Vesper and Watson the dog.

A former train station, the boarded up building laid empty for 10 years before the couple transformed it into a family home.

Inside, the homeowners eclectic tastes can be seen as well as their desire to be sustainable with second hand furnishing adorning the three levels.

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

Delighted homeowner Christina Blundell 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. As the final was filmed last summer, the trophy has been sadly tucked away while we’ve kept the secret of winning to ourselves. I think it’ll either go in the hallway or perhaps outside somewhere. All of the finalists are a lovely bunch and I couldn’t pick a favourite home among them. They each have an individual and special quality - I’m glad the judging wasn’t up to me!"

She added: “We were absolutely blown away by the judges’ comments about The Old Train House. The fact that each judge, independently of each other, considered our home was worthy of a ‘10’ was very humbling. Anna, Banjo and Michael picked up on things in our home in a way that we hadn’t considered ourselves and that made us even more proud of what we’ve achieved. There was one word in particular that really stuck with me from Anna’s comments and she said our home was ‘accessible’ from which I take it to mean that it’s homely, inviting and achievable. Oh, and all the train puns have been choo-choo-riffic!”

Judge and interior designer, Anna Campbell Jones explained why the home was a worthy winner, saying: “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. I thought the upside-down living worked so well, keeping the light spaces for daytime (and nebbing!) and the darker quiet more private spaces for sleeping in, but the scene stealer was the old railway platform transformed into a magical plant filled, tree canopied terrace.”

Take a tour of the property here.