Lynne O’Rourke: ‘It’s a little at odds with my not-so-chic interior’

Gone was the canvas, and the wobbly mattress and sleeping bag, replaced by crisp cotton sheets and silken throws on a bed that did not list to the side every time one of the kids rolled over; gone were the shared facilities, replaced instead by my beautifully tiled bathroom with covetable stone sinks.

In fact, the entire hotel was so stylishly decorated in a very un-hotel-like manner, it made me fall in love with Morrocan interior style, which is a little at odds with my white-painted, shabby and not-so-chic interior back home in Scotland.

However, as I had been left to my own devices, the children being at home with their father, there was no one around to restrain me in my attempts to bring a little of this new-found passion for all things Morroccan home with me. Hence the large silver tealight holders that wouldn’t fit in my case and have legs so sharp they might have been confiscated as lethal weapons on my way through customs. And as for the silver pouffe that is yet to be stuffed, who knows where that is going to go. I caught my youngest using the upturned hollow shell of my prized purchase as a boat. Somehow I think the shabby look is set to prevail.

Our cover story follows Andrew and Shirley Beveridge’s near decade-long journey to create their stunning self-build home set in the Scottish Borders’ woodland. The impressive results are on page 4. On page 10, Kevin and Karen Finnie transformed a 150-year-old Ayrshire farmhouse to take full advantage of the views. And on page 14, one of the founders behind stylish online website, not on the high street.com, Sophie Cornish, reveals her own home style.