FORMER nurse Heather Craig suspected she may have ADHD – when she painted her entire house pink.
The mum-of-two from Crossford, Fife began researching Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder when it was feared one of her daughters might have developed the condition.
Instead she ended up being diagnosed with ADHD herself two years ago, which finally explained why she had created a pastel paradise she called The PinkHouse.
Heather – whose quirky home will feature on Monday’s hit BBC series Scotland’s Home of the Year – said: “When my daughter Rosie was four years old she had a terrible head injury and fractured her skull.
“She was learning to ride a bike and went down a hill straight into a brick wall.
“I was warned that with head injuries, where the frontal lobe has been damaged, children can develop ADHD by the time they reach the age of seven.
“So I was researching ADHD when I started to think that not only did it sound very much like my mum but it also sounded very much like me.”
She adds: “The traits were things like being untidy, being a bit spaced out, missing conversations and important details.
“I would basically zone out when someone is talking to me as I’d be thinking of something else.
“Then there’s being hyperactive, but for girls that can mean you’re more hyperactive in your head rather than physically always on the go.
“It helped me a lot getting a diagnosis as it explained why I was such a disorganised messy person, who can be a bit impulsive which is probably evident with what I’ve done to the house.”
Heather has a “formula” when decorating every room which is “something old, new and at least three colours”, which again she puts firmly down to her condition.
She says: “I’m attracted to bold colours because I feel that they energise me.
“If I’m in a plain environment, although I’d admire it in someone else’s house, I couldn’t live in it as it would bring me down.
“So ADHD has helped with my creative side to produce the colour schemes that I have, but I also need those colours as they help me. It’s kind of circular.”
And the TV judges were full of praise for the “cosy, colourful” home that Heather has created for her family including offshore worker hubby Brian and their daughters Rosie, nine, and seven-year-old Olive.
Anna Campbell Jones described the colour schemes as “brave combinations”, while Banjo Beale said the whole house was like walking into a “giant sweetie”.
And architect Danny Campbell loved the stable door to the playroom, describing it as a “happy home for kids”.
They were also admired Heather’s Neapolitan wallpaper in the hallway, which was designed to look like the ice cream.
Heather, 37, says: “I thought Banjo might like the house because he likes to reuse stuff and I buy a lot of second hand items.
“A lot of the things are not particularly classy or high end, sometimes they’re a bit wonky here and there, so it’s a bit surprising all the judges liked it.
“So that makes me happy because I really respect their opinions.”
Designer Banjo also mentioned Heather’s disco ball in the kitchen and the wall-mounted ducks in her living room, with the quip: “This person doesn’t give a flying duck about the rules.”
Heather says: “I wanted something that was cheery and nostalgic. The colours would have looked too childish without my retro furniture and all the stuff I collect which makes it look a little more grown up.
“As for the disco ball, in every house I go to I always think, ‘This room would be good for a party– it just needs a disco ball’.”
But although the judges were unanimous about The Pink House, Heather knows it does divide opinion.
She says: “When I get builders in they will be surprised by the decor at first, but they always then say ‘Actually I really like this’.
“Although some people don’t get it and probably feel it’s all a bit too much.”
She adds: “It took us seven years to complete but we did one room at a time and really did it properly from plastering and changing the skirting boards and all that.
“Finally we changed all the internal doors just before the show came to film.
“The show was actually really good for my ADHD as it gave me a deadline to finish loads of unfinished projects that miraculously I managed to complete on time.
“I could actually do with the cameras coming around every couple of years to help me get everything done.”
Fortunately her daughter Rosie has had no ill effects from her horrific accident, nor did she go onto develop ADHD.
Heather says: “The great thing with kids is when they have brain damage their brains are still growing so I was told they can create all these new pathways. So we were very, very lucky.”
And their pink home really is a life-long dream come true for Heather as she used to walk past it on her way to school when it was just plain white.
She says: “I always loved it because of its arched doorway which is quite unusual for Scotland.
“After all those years later I finally got my hands on it – to paint it pink.”.
*Scotland’s Home of the Year is screened on Monday (June 3) on BBC OneScotland at 8.30pm.
