The wonderful house in Edinburgh neighbourhood that's appearing on Scotland's Christmas Home of the Year

That’s not down to Santa making a premature appearance, but because a resident will be appearing on Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year on BBC One Scotland and BBC iPlayer.

Kirsty and Gordon Grieve’s semi-detached Victorian home, Holly Bank House, has made it to the shortlist, along with four other festive gaffs located in Alloa, Cumbernauld, Fraserburgh and Lesmahagow.

We don’t yet know who wins the competition, which is judged by presenters Anna Campbell-Jones, Banjo Beale and Danny Campbell, though their criteria seems to be, the more festive the better.

As Beale says, “I’m looking for a Christmas home with all the trimmings: lights, full of decoration, gorgeous full trees and a whole lot of joy - I’m a greedy little Christmas elf”.

Until now, the contestants have had to keep their involvement very quiet.

“I’m very excited and a bit nervous,” says Kirsty. “I tried to keep it under wraps from the neighbours, but I think a few of them were aware that something was going on when the filming took place”.

The production team found Kirsty via Instagram, where she has an interiors-themed account, with nearly six thousand followers, called @thehomethatkirstybuilt.

“We had quite a few conversations, when they just explained the process, just to answer any questions, because obviously I was a little bit hesitant at first. You know, it's quite daunting thinking about it,” she says. “Then I met with the producer and director. They came around to the house just to have a look. We had a chat, and then I got the confirmation that we were going to be put forward”.

The most difficult thing for the couple was keeping the house tidy, before filming and judging.

That’s because they have two small children - Freddie, aged one and five-year-old Rae - and a dog, Brie.

“That was actually probably the most tricky thing. If only I could have got them to move out in the weeks leading up, but no,” she says. “My family was actually really supportive, but it was pretty stressful, on the morning of the filming, trying to rearrange everything in our bedroom”.

The secret is having lots of storage.

As she says, “We’ve got a lot of Edinburgh press cupboards, and we’ve got two rooms that weren’t featured and which contained all the junk”.

The team were obviously smitten by her twinkly home, where she has vast garlands snaking up the wooden staircase, a fir wreath or swag on each of three exterior doors, stockings hung above the original fireplace, and a total of three full-sized Christmas trees (there were four, but she gave one to her parents), including a ceiling-tickling one, decorated with gold baubles, in the unusual location of the master bedroom.

“It's really lovely at nighttime when you’ve just got the tree lights on, and it just makes the room feel so cosy,” she says.

The trees also include one simply decorated version which Kirsty keeps neutral and chic, with white lights, silver baubles and a fairy at the top.

“That’s the one that nobody else is allowed to touch,” she says. It’s in the living room - the space that Kirsty is most proud of.

She prefers a classic look, and gets her interiors ideas from magazines, other Instagrammers and the internet, with a myriad of Pinterest boards on the go at any one time.

“I would say, apart from some modern bits, I'm probably more traditional,” she says. “At Christmas, I like reds, greens, gold, lots of foliage, candles and loads of lights. I'm also definitely a real tree person. And growing up, my dad was too, so we would go to buy one every year, and he would buy the biggest of the lot, and my mom would have a heart attack. We’d have to saw a bit off the bottom and top. And that still happens to this day, so I just always get a real tree as well now”.

The tree in the extension is slightly more maximalist - “it’s more colourful and eclectic,” she says - as it’s decorated with sentimental family decorations.

The family collect baubles when they’re on holiday, and Kirsty picks them up when she’s at the local supermarket, or Dobbies.

Although Kirsty loves Christmas, she is not usually the sort to put her tree up in November. This year was slightly different, thanks to Scotland’s Christmas Home of the Year team.

“We’re not normally so early, especially because my daughter has her birthday at the end of November. So we try to start decorating around the first week of December.” she says. “It's really nice to have it up a little bit longer, to be honest”.

Holly Bank House used to be Kirsty’s late granny’s house, and it came back into the family in 2020.

“It’s the house that my dad grew up in,” she says. “We'd also always go there for Christmas dinner, although it wasn't always my favorite, because my granddad didn't like turkey, but it was lovely spending it with the family, and now just getting to host in the same house. It’s amazing really”.

Her granny used to buy a new bauble each year, usually from Jenners, and Kirsty, who loves living in Dalkeith, discovered some of her original collection in the attic.

In common with her elder relative, she obviously has an excellent eye, but interior design isn’t a career that she wants to pursue. She currently works in compliance for an investment company.

“Obviously it would be a dream job, but it's just not something I would probably ever, ever pursue. Really. I just like to keep it as more of a hobby. It keeps it fun”.

www.bbc.co.uk