If it wasn’t for a gas inspection, Diane Adamson’s property, The Schoolhouse in Fordell, Fife, probably wouldn’t be appearing on the first episode of Scotland’s Home of the Year on Monday April 6.
“I'm obsessed with interiors and gardens, but I never thought my house was worthy,“ she says. “But my husband, Jimmy, is a heating engineer and this guy visited to check our gas certificates. He came into my kitchen and just went, ‘wow’.’ Jimmy said to me, ‘That boy has been in thousands of houses and he says he’s never seen a place like this before.’”
After the confidence boost, within an hour, Adamson had logged onto the computer and applied to appear on the BBC Scotland programme.
The producers obviously loved the house too, as she got a speedy and affirmative response from them. In the East episode, she’ll be the solo Fifer going up against two Edinburgh properties: a bungalow in Mortonhall and an Art Deco villa in Craiglockhart.
When they came round to film this episode, Adamson didn’t have any time to make any final tweaks or do a last minute deep clean.
“I was in Amsterdam for a long weekend celebrating my 60th birthday. Then I got a phone call to say they could come on Tuesday, with the whole crew and everything. I was like, oh my goodness, I'll just be getting back,” she says. “We only had time to sweep up the leaves in the garden”.
Let’s hope that the judges - Banjo Beale, Anna Campbell Jones and Danny Campbell - fall for this distinctive terraced house, which has loads of comfortable charm.
The most distinctive rooms include a steely grey lounge, with a collection of porthole mirrors on the wall and fuzzy yellow cushions on the couch. There’s also a hallway in a very Victorian arsenic green, and a snug with a Chesterfield sofa and tartan wallpaper.
Upstairs, and the main bedroom is all pink and pale grey, with a chandelier, rococo mirror and an en-suite bathroom with rolltop bath.
Apparently, this space was created in tribute to the bedroom that Diane had when she was 18 years old. However, pink isn’t her favourite shade these days.
“I’ve always had black in my houses. I don't know why I just like black and white, it's just different, but easy. The greens have also crept in,” she says.
However, it was the neutral kitchen and dining area that made the gas man go “wow”. This open-plan space is light and bright, with a wood-burning stove, Velux windows and pale grey units that the couple had made bespoke when they moved in.
“It was a bit pricier at the time, but the kitchen has lasted 10 years, and it gets painted every two or three years,” says Adamson, who buys interior design magazines and looks to Instagram for home inspiration.
The kitchen decor includes a rather cool giant clock with Roman numerals, and there are lots of other interesting objects throughout the house. Where does she shop?
“I used to go to Edinburgh’s Habitat, back in the day, when we first bought a flat. I'm so glad it's back in through shops like Sainsbury's and Argos, and I still buy their stuff, because I just think the design’s so good. I also go to a place in Kirkcaldy called Rejects. That shop has been my place to go for years and years,” she says.
According to Adamson, the house wasn’t always this beautiful. It’s been in the family since the Sixties, and was originally owned by the coal board’s manager, before Jimmy’s uncle, Charles, moved in. When the couple took it over, it was in desperate need of some TLC. As they have three boys, they added an extension, but there was also lots of other structural maintenance required.
“It definitely needed absolute gutting. It was the worst house in the street at one point,” says Adamson. “There was woodworm everywhere, so we had to dig the ground underneath it, and renew all the joists, because they were rotten. I think there was a stream running under the kitchen. At some point it was so damp, as there was a flat roof and it had been leaking for centuries, since it had been an old school”.
Adamson has learnt loads over the course of refurbishing the house.
She could surely become a professional interior designer and has done a course in the past, as well as having some practical experience beyond her own place.
“I have done a basement flat out for somebody in Edinburgh. I got free reign. He gave me anything I wanted, basically, and said go for it. And I loved it, but I had a two-year-old at the time, so it nearly put me over the edge,” says Adamson, who, throughout the years, has done various day jobs, including working for Marconi, housekeeping and a role at Fife Women’s Aid. She also lets out her self-contained loft on Airbnb.
“People are looking for a bit more for their money these days. Some of the pictures I see on Airbnbs. I'm thinking, oh my goodness, I wouldn’t leave my cat sleeping there,” she says.
We’re sure she’s going to see an increase in bookings after her Scotland’s Home of the Year appearance. Not just from cats, but their owners too.
Scotland’s Home of the Year, Ep1/7: East, is on Monday April 6 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Scotland from 8.30pm to 9pm, and on Wednesday April 8 on BBC Scotland from 8 to 8.30pm.
