Isle of Skye cosy cottage that made final of Scotland's Home of the Year up for sale
A new owner is sought for An Cala
A cosy cottage on the Isle of Skye that made the final of Scotland’s Home of the Year has gone on the market.
An Cala, near Sconser on Skye, was bought by Caroline McQuistin and Lee Duncan in 2022. The house was then transformed into a cosy retreat that caught the eye of the judges of the show earlier this year.
The house is now on the market as the couple move on to a new chapter in their lives, with An Cala for sale for offers over £275,000.
The “charming” two-bedroom cottage, with two bathrooms, sits high in the township. The property enjoys “superb” views of Loch Sligachan, with a detached garage converted into a space to rent to visitors to the island.
Ms McQuistin, 29, said she was leaving the house with mixed emotions.
“It’s bittersweet to leave the cottage, but I’m ready for the next challenge,” she said. “This home is really where I’ve discovered so much about my interior style and what I’m capable of, so I’m excited to take that onto the next place.
“It also really solidified my life on Skye, so hopefully it can do that for the next person who owns the cottage too. I’ll miss the views and the bench seat my dad built in the kitchen.”
Ms McQuistin and Mr Duncan moved to An Cala after being outbid on a number of properties, with the cottage creating that all-hallowed “gut feeling” for the pair and a sense of potential as to what it could become.
After years of work, design and curation, Ms McQuistin described An Cala as “cosy eclectic cottage heavily inspired by its surroundings”.
She said: “With its small cosy size and scenic views, I saw potential to really lean into the cottage style, and having grown up in a farmhouse, the farmhouse cottage style really came naturally to me.
“There’s also connections with the home to John Mackenzie, the UK’s first official mountain guide who was from Sconser. It was built on what was his croft. So I’ve decorated with this in mind, always drawing inspiration from the island as I go.”
READ MORE: Look inside the tiny cabin on a Scottish island that made Scotland’ Home of the Year show
Ms McQuistin, who studied photography at university and now works as an interior design consultant and content creator, said she had a keen interest in interiors from a young age. She often asked for her childhood bedroom to be redecorated for her birthday.
Ms McQuistin and Mr Duncan appeared on Scotland’s Home of the Year after producers contacted her, for a third year, through her Instagram page, where she documented life at An Cala as the cottage took shape.
“I decided by the third year of them contacting me, my ‘it’s not ready yet’ attitude would probably never go away, as a home is ever evolving, so just decided to go for it” she said.
Of the experience of being on the show, she added: “It was certainly a little stressful, but good to have a reason to tie up any unfinished projects that I’d been putting off getting round to.”
For her next project, Ms McQuistin is looking for another “fixer upper, perhaps with a bit of land to further lean into my farming upbringing and the farmhouse cottage style I’ve grown to love”.
Ms McQuistin has recently started working with a hotel on the island to help them renovate their rooms. “This is a really exciting new chapter for me,” she said.
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