Ice cream fans are in for a sweet treat as an Aberdeenshire home next to Mackie’s of Scotland is set to melt hearts on the BBC Scotland’s Home of the Year show.
Tasteful and full of flavour, the aptly named Mack Lodge – next to the Mackie’s ice cream farm in Westertown, Rothienorman – is the creme de la creme of properties and is set to leave viewers wanting more when it appears on the popular BBC One Scotland programme on Monday May 30.
Avid fans of the show, Graeme, 39, a project manager, and Amanda Hogg, 38, were “shocked” when they found out their sleek self-build home had made it on to the show.
“We were watching the show as we always do and at the end it said to send in some photos if you wanted to be part of the show, so I did this and didn’t think anything else of it until a little while later we got a call from the show. I was in complete shock,” said Amanda, who runs her own beauty business from home.
“It feels amazing being able to share our home through the show, it’s something for us to look back on in years to come.”
Gym and beauty salon
With its “cool” location together with its amazing interior including, a gym, beauty salon, playroom and snug, it’s hardly surprising that Mack Lodge caught the attention of the BBC TV producers.
It was just over two years ago when Graeme and Amanda built their dream home from scratch, which they share with their children Laila, 11, and nine-year-old Lucie, as well as Indie the dog and Kiki the cat.
“We fell in love with the views and the potential the plot had to capture these,” said Amanda.
“As this was a self-build we have done everything to create it and get it the way it is; it is still very much a work in progress and still lots we would like to do to it.
“We are about to embark on a garden project this summer to create a seating/entertaining area.”
Spectacular Aberdeenshire views
Throwing open their doors to the TV crew, viewers will see judges Anna Campbell Jones, Kate Spiers and Michael Angus having a nosy around Mack Lodge before eyeing up two other properties, a colourful new-build in Dundee and a former water tank transformed into a home in Fife.
Asked what their favourite room in their house is, Amanda said: “We love the kitchen/lounge area, this is where we spend most of our time as a family and also when we have friends round this is where we tend to be.”
TV fame
The beautiful views and stonework are bound to be talking points among the judges.
“I’m not sure about quirky but the views are definitely a feature,” said Amanda.
“Also, we have tried to take some of the building materials into our home so we have the stone walls in the hallway and leading through to the kitchen, which is the same stone we have used outside which we sourced from our local quarry.”
Still very much a work in progress is the garden area, but the couple have big plans.
“The garden is a split-level garden with stairs leading down to the bottom area,” said Amanda.
“We are about to build a seating/entertaining area which will be partially screened to provide some privacy and which will allow us to take advantage of the evening sun.”
Home viewing
Seeing their beautiful home on the TV will be a very surreal but exciting moment for the family.
“We are very excited to see it; the process all happened so quickly last year so we had kind of put it out of our minds,” said Amanda.
“We are on the very last week (before the final on June 6) so hopefully it will be worth the wait!”
When to watch Scotland’s Home of the Year
To see if Amanda and Graeme’s home makes it through to the final of Scotland’s Home of the Year, tune in to BBC One Scotland on Monday May 30 at 8.30pm.
The TV producers behind the hit show are also encouraging homeowners to apply for the show.
The closing date is June 10 and more details can be found at www.bbc.co.uk/shoty
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