If you were wandering through Burntisland towards the end of October, you may have noticed a top floor flat where they had their festive decorations up very early.
That could have been the house of local art teacher Emily Watson.
She might have been a bit premature - for Grinches, anyway - but, as a massive fan of the season, she couldn’t wait to unleash her fun and sparkly creativity on the Fife town.
Now, you can enjoy it, too, as her beautifully decorated property, which they’ve dubbed Sugar Plum Loft, will be starring on Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year on BBC One Scotland on Monday, December 15.
This place has been shortlisted to go up against homes in Millport, Edinburgh, Peterhead and Cumnock, to see who will be crowned as this year’s cracker.
“What I’m looking for in a Christmas home is that genuine feeling, that’s heartfelt, joyful and maybe has a little bit of razzle dazzle,” says one of the programme’s presenters, Banjo Beale.
Watson’s house certainly fits the criteria.
Although the two-bedroom property is comparatively compact, she has managed to incorporate five trees into her design. She goes for the faux ones, rather than the real.
“I've got a tree in most rooms. There’s one in my living room, kitchen, my bedroom, the spare bedroom and the hallway,” says Watson, who was contacted by the production team after they spotted her Instagram account (@parallelshorehome) and is very excited to be on the show.
These classic items are all festooned with lights and baubles, in a light-hearted style that the home owner describes as “retro and quirky”. For example, on the biggest of these, in the living room, there are classic silver baubles, as well as fun decorations, like a mouse, a poke of chips, an octopus wearing a Santa hat and a transparent hummingbird.
She takes a lot of inspiration from her parents, who love a similar style of decoration, and also love to get their tree up nice and early.
“I don't buy things for the sake of filling a space. I want each decoration to be meaningful and have a wee story behind it, or be something I've made or borrowed from my family. My mum brought back little vintage baubles from our holiday last summer, so I’ve got a mix of different things,” Watson says. “When I first moved in, I had to bulk up by buying a few new items, but now I've got the base, I can get things that have a wee memory behind them, or are something quite special”.
As you’d expect from an art teacher, Watson is also quite crafty, and has made a few of the pieces, like the colourful paper chains and up-cycled placemats that feature hand-stitched family portraits .
“I've also got this garland wreath in the hallway that includes every shop I like on the high street but made out of paper,” she says. “I've got a few wee bits that I've made this year, as being on the programme pushed me to explore the creative DIY kind of part of me, and I've just been totally motivated to do more. It's been great for that”.
Other jolly design features include the mismatched colourful candlesticks that are lined up along the mantelpiece, the golden star garlands hanging from the hallway ceiling and, in the hearth, a display of glitzy disco balls and colourful paper stars. Although she also has one on her door, there are traditional fir wreaths in unexpected places, like above the bed and attached to the stairwell’s wrought iron railings.
As far as inspiration goes, Watson has a few tips.
“I love looking through all the pages of posh magazines and trying to do styles cheaper, or making things instead,” she says. “You should also start early, so you've got plenty of time to do wee bits on the run up to whenever you want to do the proper decorating”.
She also appears to be a big fan of the humble fairy-light. Above her bed, she’s made a canopy of these, which are threaded with ribbons, and they frame her wardrobe, too. It’s a simple but effective way to make a room look cosy and inviting.
Although Watson will be spending Christmas day at her parents’ nearby house - where she also hid out when the team were in her flat to do the filming - she will be doing an early ‘mini’ festive family lunch at her place, just a few days before.
“I cook a whole Christmas dinner from scratch, and I start the day before. It's like a big kitchen marathon that I do for them,” says Watson, who, out of season, stashes her vast collection of decorations in her own attic and in her parents’ garage.
On December 15, she will also be having a Sugar Plum Loft watching party, and is inviting a few pals over to see her television debut. After the airing, when she gets back to school, she’ll undoubtedly be famous among her pupils.
“A lot of them know I’m going on it, though some are just like, ‘What even is that?’ But I think some of my older pupils and my senior classes are really excited,” she says.
We’re sure that they’ll be rooting for her to be the Christmassiest home of all.
Watch Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Scotland on Monday December 15 from 8.00-9.00pm
Read more: “Look inside chic Art Deco property appearing on Scotland’s Home of the Year as tribute to owner’s late wife”
