This coastal cottage on the Isle of Skye is our spotlight destination in episode five of Scotland’s Home of the Year 2025

In the fifth episode of Scotland’s Home of the Year 2025, the judging trio headed to the Highlands and islands with hopes of finding properties that ooze character and creativity; places that reflect the owner’s personality and show an understanding of what it takes to make a house a home. We are particularly taken by this little coastal cottage on the Isle of Skye…

An Cala sits in the shadow of the Skye mountains and the Dun Caan summit, surrounded by rich greenery and views of the sea. Lambs bounce over the fields to the rear of this quintessentially Scottish property, bringing joy to a Hebridean landscape that can sometimes feel a little harsh. But such is island weather!

Photographer Caroline and her partner Lee moved into the coastal cottage with their collie Nuala. They had grand plans to transform the not quite crumbling, but certainly ageing, into a little haven of colour. They did so by lifting the hues and shapes of the surrounding mountains and seas, and placing them into furniture, paints, rugs and accessories throughout the home.

We speak to Caroline about the design process for her coastal cottage – and why joy drives everything she does.

How does it feel to be on series seven of Scotland’s Home of the Year?

I ended up getting quite emotional when we got the call. I’ve poured so much love and time into the home, so to have strangers look at the cottage and see that beauty, is really touching.

Are there any elements of An Cala you hope the judges notice or feel when they visit your home?

Everything in our home has a story that feels very close to us. There are lots of gifts from family, locally sourced pieces and things that we have lovingly restored. I always want people to feel the joy and to feel relaxed in our space, so I hope the judges feel that, too.

Hopefully they can see the happiness that we have.

What drew you to the coastal cottage?

To be honest, I didn’t really pay much attention to what the property was, more about what the property could be. It was actually my mother-in-law who picked up the keys for the house and highlighted how huge the project was going to be. I didn’t really think about that! I was just planning how we would decorate it and make it our own – not how we would execute all that! To be honest, I thought it was normal to come into a new space and see what you want, not how intimidating the project might be.

Does that creativity come naturally to you?

Yes. People will ask me how I came up with things. But I don’t know – they just come to me! I’m constantly looking at interiors where ever I go, whether that’s pubs, cafes, restaurants or other people’s houses. I’m always clocking things, so I never sit down and come up with ideas – I just do what speaks to me. I never do paint samples, either. I just pick a colour and go for it. What’s the worst that could happen? We’ll just paint it again!

Why a red door?

My partner had memories with friends who are no longer with us. They were both tour guides together years ago and would chat about the doors that they would see on the islands as they drove from A to B. I always loved coloured doors, too, so it kind of just happened, I think!

Can you paint a picture of the land around your home?

The view from our house looks onto the Isle of Raasay. The mountain on top of it is called Dun Caan and my partner’s surname is Duncan, so we felt a sort of connection with the land. There’s a farm behind the cottage, which has lambs, sheep and cows in it – kind of fulfilling that quintessential rural island location! I grew up on a farm, so it feels like home.

You have a little window alcove – was it important to you, especially in this area, to create room for the view and lots of natural light? Bridging that gap between the land and your home.

Definitely. Our living room was difficult to layout. And one thing I wasn’t expecting to be difficult, was fining ways to fill each room and learning how to maximise space and put things in places that just make sense. Like the William Morris chair in the living room – it sits proudly doused in light from the window, but knowing where to put it originally was difficult. It was a bit of a feng shui nightmare! The living room has moved around dozens of times, especially to make room for the woodburning stove, but I think we’ve finally settled on a nice cosy layout that doesn’t just feel good but looks good too.

But I decided to kind of form the space around the views we have and move things to suit how we live and move through the home.

What is your favourite season in your home?

I love spring. Because we’re underneath the mountain, we don’t actually get direct sunlight from November until February. The sun begins to come out around March and it’s such a relief! It feels like a reward for making it through the colder, greyer, months; like we can breathe again.

You have a lot of colour and pattern throughout the coastal cottage – was this an effort to welcome brightness during darker seasons?

Subconsciously, yes. I found myself dousing everything in yellow! It’s such a joyful colour and really elevates whichever space it is in.

Looking for more behind the scenes from Scotland’s Home of the Year 2025? Click below to read about Audrey and Malcolm’s Victorian conversion in Auchterarder.

Scotland’s Home of the Year 2025: Audrey and Malcolm’s Victorian conversion in Auchterarder