SCOTLAND’S Home of the Year viewers were left stunned and claimed last night’s winner shouldn’t have taken top spot as it was missing a major feature.
Judges Anna Campbell Jones, Banjo Beale and Danny Campbell were taking a look around three properties in the North East and Northern Isles on the first episode of the BBC series.
And they all fell in love with the tiny Quiny cottage in Banchory, Aberdeenshire.
Owner Rachel Dougherty spent £100,000 designing her picture perfect home.
But the handbag designer – who returned home to Banchory from London in 2021 – insists it was far from perfect when she bought it.
She says: “It had wood rot, damp and woodworm so I spent pretty much the whole first year ripping it out with my dad right back to the brick work.”
However the 38-year-old insists she could always see the potential.
She explains: “I remember when I was in primary school and I used to draw my dream house, and it was always a cottage with a little path down the front garden with a colourful door and a very symmetrical look.
“The moment I saw this cottage I knew this was it. I really have been able to turn it into my dream home.”
The colourful cottage left the judges stunned, with Anna describing the property as “Chocolate box gorgeous”.
Banjo claimed: “This is the cutest little home I’ve ever stepped into.”
As they took a look around the first floor of the house, viewers spotted that the home was missing a key feature.
The property has a small scullery instead of a kitchen, which the judges branded as “gorgeous” and “functional”.
At the end of the programme, the cottage scored a perfect 30 out of 30 when it came to the final scores.
However, viewers were left disagreeing with the judges finalist.
One said: “How can that cottage be a ‘home’ when it doesn’t have a kitchen?”
Another wrote: “Where’s the kitchen in that wee cottage?”
And a third commented: “Those judges need sacked. How does the cottage with no kitchen win? Shambles.”