Who: Amanda Tickle, 55, who works as a project manager, her husband Simon, 59, a helicopter pilot, plus their cats Peaches and Daisy.
What: A stunning, Icelandic inspired three-level house which was built on the site of a former oatcake factory.
Where: Harbour View enjoys a seafront location in Stromness, Orkney.
Here is what Amanda had to say about their amazing home and what it feels like to be on Scotland’s Home of the Year…Â
“It feels surreal to be on Scotland’s Home of the Year because, I think like most people, you apply for the show and you never think you’re going to hear back from them.
I don’t think it will hit home until we see the show on Monday night.
We bought our home back in October 2019 just before the Covid lockdown so we didn’t move in until August 2020.
The home itself was built by a couple who intended to retire there but unfortunately due to ill health they had to sell it.
They spent four years going through the planning process before eventually building it.
They’ve done an amazing job with the property, all credit to them.
Amazing Orkney property on Scotland’s Home of the Year…
At the time, we were living on the Black Isle but I spotted the house when I was visiting my son Ethan who was training to be a dive master in Orkney.
It turned out that Ethan happened to be lodging right next door to this stunning property.
I then discovered that it had just gone on the market so I arranged a viewing that day and I fell in love with it.
‘Our Orkney home ticked all the right boxes’
It’s such a light house and it was a blank canvas for us.
For me, I love simplicity and clutter free, open spaces so this house ticked all the boxes.
It’s modern, it flows and it has a unique design as it’s quite narrow and long.
We always wanted to live near the water and I don’t think you can get any closer to the sea than this.
Inside, on the ground floor, there’s a kitchen with an adjoining dining and living space as well as a downstairs toilet.
‘We didn’t want our interiors to detract from the views’
On the first floor there are two double bedrooms which share a Jack and Jill ensuite and one of the bedrooms has a bath with an amazing view.
On the second floor there is an ensuite bedroom/office.
When the property was built, the ensuite/office was an artist’s studio so one of our challenges was turning that space into a living space.
Outside, there’s a laundry room and an infrared sauna in the boat shed as well as a hot tub at the front.
In terms of our interiors, we were conscious of the views so we didn’t want to detract away from them.
‘Minimalist style with splashes of colour’
Like most people, we live really busy lives so we just wanted a home that we could come back to which was simple, calm and would help us to relax.
So we really focused on a minimalist style but we also wanted to have a splash of colour through the furniture.
So in the living room we’ve got a bespoke sofa from Italy.
It’s colourful so it creates a lovely atmosphere but it doesn’t take away from the views.
We’re also huge fans of Vitsoe, a company which makes modular furniture.
So our office and living room has furniture from Vitsoe.
‘I’m a fan of Marie Kondo’
We’ve made the downstairs space quite vibrant as that’s where you’re moving around.
But in the bedrooms, we wanted it to be calm with local touches.
So the pictures in the guest bedroom are by local artists.
I absolutely love the guest bedroom as it has a roll top bath with incredible views.
One thing the house was lacking when we moved in was storage so we had to be really clever.
I’m a big fan of Marie Kondo and one of the things she talks about is that your home is a living space not a storage space.
So it’s about having the balance between having too much stuff but making sure you’ve got the right stuff.
I spend a lot of time away with work and I still get the wow factor when I come home and I think ‘oh my gosh, I actually live here’.”
Harbour View will be on Scotland’s Home of the Year on BBC One Scotland on Monday April 28 at 8.30pm or can be watched on BBC iPlayer
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