PHOTOS: Enjoy a viewing at Aviemore house in running for Scotland's Home of the Year
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An Aviemore couple will be opening the doors to their very special home to visitors from across the nation despite the current Covid-19 restrictions.
Eagle-eyed fans of the BBC’s Scotland’s Home of the Year, may recently have caught a brief glimpse of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired Saltire House in clips for upcoming episodes of the popular TV series.
The Old Dalfaber Road property owned by Ian Forrester and partner Myra Francis has made the shortlist in the Highlands regional search for Scotland’s most outstanding home.
It is one of three vying for the grand final, in line with the show’s format which sees interior designer Anna Campbell Jones, architect Michael Angus and blogger Kate Spiers each awarding marks out of 10.
Ahead of the Highlands episode due to air on May 26, the couple gave the Strathy a look inside their stunning three-storey and three-bedroom home overlooking the River Spey and Cairngorms.
Mr Forrester said: “Our friend Karen Lawrie said to us that we should apply for the show.
“So we contacted them through their website and submitted a couple of photographs. We heard back from the producers within an hour saying that wanted to come to see us.
“They loved it, and said it was exactly what they were looking for.”
The property, “opened” by friend and former First Minister Alex Salmond on March 31, 2017, is a house of two halves, with the front inspired by the renowned Scottish architect and designer but, in contrast, the back is all windows and balcony to make the most of the stunning views.
The TV cameras visited Saltire House last August and the weather was kind, meaning the Cairngorms could be seen in their full glory.
“They had a fantastic day,” said Ms Francis, “and the garden was still in full bloom.”
The site originally had planning permission for a town house which Mr Forrester said was not to their taste.
He said: “I only bought it as I did not want somebody overlooking us next door. We acquired more land to make it a fantastic site and thought why not create something befitting the location.
“I’m a big Mackintosh fan but did not want a ‘Mocking-tosh’ – a pretend design. If Mackintosh was alive today he would work with modern materials. We wanted curves and no square corners which drove the builders daft!”
“When you walk in through the door it is a Mackintosh hallway of the 1910s, but then that’s it, apart from some black and cream colour schemes.
“The rest of the house is modern with a hint of Scottish vernacular... a big log stove, a roof garden, big modern kitchen and even a lift.
“By and large, I wanted to make the house so it worked for Myra and I.”
Their vision was brought to reality by Glasgow-based McInnes Gardner Architects and Grantown-based AW Laing who the couple said had done “a superb job”.
They will all be on tenterhooks come the evening of the show. Ms Francis said: “We do not get to meet the judges and we have no idea what our house has scored. We will not know too until the programme goes out.”
The grand final will be held at Glasgow’s House for an Art Lover later this year.
