A Co Tyrone farmhouse has been listed as a contender for Northern Ireland’s House of the Year.
Scott’s Farmhouse, in Clogher Valley, dates back to 1923 and has been passed down through a family ever since.
The four-square country home was last night announced as one of the finalists in the BBC One NI programme.
Scott (no surname provided) took the house over from his cousin four years ago.
He explained to the show’s host, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen: “As a child, I was always moving furniture.
“During Covid, everyone was locked down in the house, and I think you realise how important your home is.”
Scott’s Farmhouse
Leading up to the entrance is a classic cottage garden with an archway entwined with vine.
When Scott initially moved in, its interior was a blank canvas, devoid of any sort of design.
He took it upon himself to take a traditional direction with its layout as opposed to modernising the home.
“When I moved in, I would have described it as a rice pudding. Everything was very plain,” Scott said.
“The bones of this house are from 1923, and if I did it super modern, I don’t think it would have worked.”
The ground floor, layered with quarry tiles, consists of a kitchen, an office and a dining area leading onto a lounge.
On the upper floor, two bedrooms sit at the front looking onto the garden and the third room was converted into a snug.
The bathroom is also upstairs as well as a daybed with a window overlooking the garden.
Read more
One of the bedrooms
Scott decided to keep the exposed timber flooring and painted it white.
From its exterior, the farmhouse appears very unassuming, but those entering will find it filled with memorabilia from Scott’s trips around the world.
He said: “There definitely is a European influence. I like to go on little weekend trips away. For example, I might go to Italy and take my suitcase with clothes but then I come back, probably, with more quirky little bits fitted in.
“I feel like the home is a sanctuary. I wanted a different mood in each room.”
A judge on the show, James Fairley, said he enjoyed the traditional styling.
“It takes me on a journey, there are so many little moments of joy as you journey around. You go from quaint English cottage through to Venetian palazzo, to grand Irish country estate.”
The kitchen
Fellow judge Jane Larmour added: “I think the owner has taken a very minimal approach to the architecture. They’ve left the existing layout very much as it would have been which is really sensible. In doing so, they’ve managed to retain all of the lovely, traditional features.”
Scott also gained style points from judge Patricia McGinnis, who was impressed with the home’s interior.
“It’s kind of delightfully bonkers. The outside of it is such a regular Co Tyrone farmhouse and you come inside and you’re like, ‘what world have I entered?’”