Our house is very bonnie.. but I hope we don’t look like a couple of Charlies
nged zebra bursting through iving room wall, a life-size fe with a chandelier in its th in the bedroom and an minated palm tree in the room – Loch Lann House is a ife Narnia.
18th- century dovecote folly in den, Inverness- shire, from which e Prince Charlie is rumoured to have given out Holy Communion, is the est and most outlandish property to e on Scotland’s Home of the Year yet. h its fairytale drapes, feather-filled and fantastical animal-themed decor, ny dwelling may polarise public n when it explodes on to our screens new series of the BBC Scotland show. grand design, which features in e one tomorrow night, casts a spell udges Anna Campbell-Jones, Kate and Michael Angus – so could this al menagerie end up in top spot? ners Eilidh and Rory Sutherland hope heir unique and lavish 300-year-old home has brought unbridled joy to their six children and their seven h bulldogs over the years. dh, 55, who studied interior n, said: “It truly is a magical Yes, it is a tad unusual but then need a bit of crazy in our lives. n my opinion, is not more. I just ing for it. ave a ‘ why the hell not’ sophy when it comes to ating, hence the reason ourr has the f*** it factor and I n’t have it any other way. husband just leaves me to it. Hee I’m as mad as a box of frogs andd akes his head a lot. I’m constantlyly ing things around and paintingng lls different colours. Nothing staysys me for long. ve antiques and I’m obsessed with g. I’m a kleptomaniac when it comes handeliers and I’ve lost count of the mber of glitterballs there are which p reflect light and make rainbows erywhere.
“I have lots of unusual lamps and re is a 10ft plastic palm tree called er in our bathroom which is covered ry lights – there is a distinct humour home.” dh’s favourite spot in the house is her n freestanding bath tub, which sits in middle of her bedroom floor and is resided over by Lofty, the 9ft giraffe. She said: “I had been looking for a bath for years when my husband spotted this spectacular golden one being delivered to an antique shop. He accosted the guy, bought it, shoved it in the back of the car and brought it home. I loved it so much I designed the whole room around it. Poor Lofty the giraffe has been positioned all over the house but has found his perfect place over the bath. I stalked him online for two years waiting for him to go on sale. He’s a family favourite.”
The mum of six, who eloped with Rory to Vegas 13 years ago and got hitched by Elvis in a pink Cadillac, said her long-suffering other half had just one request for his home.
She said: “One of my husband’s few stipulations was he quite fancied a rock star pad, hence the white piano and feathered ferns in the living room.
“He bought me the piano for Christmas and got it spray-painted white. I think he thought it would get me to change my darker palette and had images of John Lennon wafting about in front of the white curtains. That didn’t happen as the piano is the lightest object in the room.
“I’ve got an art studio up in the tower and am busy creating my own gold leopard print wallpaper – there is always something to do.
“The house gets even more jazzed up at Halloween and Christmas. The only room in the house that is understated is the kitchen, which we just picked up in Ikea. I’m not a big foodie and wanted the kitchen to disappear into the background, which it has. All our kids come home for the holidays so we will always keep the big table.”
Inverness-shire natives Eilidh and Rory, whose youngest son Athol, 17, still lives at home, bought the house more than 20 years ago after spotting it online.
Eilidh, who helps her husband run their underf loor heating company, said: “The house came up and when we went to view it we were told viewings were closed but we managed to put in the highest bid and got it.
“It’s tucked away at the back of a forest and other houses have sprung up around it, hiding it from view. It’s set in an acre and a half of land. The kids spent their childhood playing in the undergrowth and woods.
“The central tower was built in the early 1700s as a folly. Bonnie Prince Charlie is rumoured to have given his followers Holy Communion from the window of the tower. The side buildings were added in the early 1800s and we extended from there out towards what used to be the kennels for the Culloden House Hotel. The kennels are now our bedroom.”
Eilidh hopes their home, which viewers can take a peek at tomorrow night at 8.30pm on BBC1 Scotland, will give them a thrill.
She said: “Having our house on the show has been quite an experience. We will be watching the show with trepidation and hope we don’t come across like a pair of goons. I hope viewers will enjoy the escapism our home offers. After the last couple of years, we all need a bit of colour and magic in our lives.”
Loch Lann House will take on a towering church conversion in the Black Isle and a cute Fort William cottage in the Highland heat of the hit show. Scoring them on architectural merit, distinctive design and original style, interior designer Anna, architect Michael and blogger Kate must decide which abode will win a place in the grand final.
Anna said the perfect home has a blend of three important criteria: “What I’m looking for in a home is a sense of uniqueness, sincerity but, most importantly, love.”
Michael added: “As a teacher, I aim to inspire and I love to be inspired. I’m looking for homes that will do that through being well-crafted, distinctive and just delightful.”
Kate said: “I’m looking for those final charming details that take a space from being a building to somewhere that feels like home.”
Each week the judges mark the shortlisted properties out of 10 but only one will go through from the nine regions to the grand finale at Glasgow’s House for an Art Lover.
Owner of outlandish and lavish 300-yearold home on her fear over show