Inside The Dairy as Scotland's Home of the Year heads for Doune

It is in Deanston and has been home to Mhairi, her husband Andrew and their family since 2023.
It is a bright, modern home with impressive views across the Trossachs. The beautiful countryside outside influences the décor inside.
Anna, Banjo and Danny must decide whether it is the home to represent Central & Tayside at the Grand Final held at Glasgow's House For An Art Lover.
Here, Mhairi shares her thoughts on the home she hopes will beat off the competition.
Scotland's Home of the Year is broadcast from 6:25pm on BBC One Scotland.
How long have you lived at The Dairy?
We moved into The Dairy on Valentine's Day 2023.
What first attracted you to the property?
Andrew and I were both single parents and met just before the pandemic. We kept our relationship going over Zoom until we unlocked and then started to build a life together across two homes – mine in Dunblane with my son, Ben and his in Edinburgh with his children, Harry, Hamish and Hannah. We eloped to Florence in the summer of 2022 and had our dream wedding and when we returned, we decided that we wanted to look for a new home for our new married life together but one which would accommodate all of our children as they come and go and provide a warm, joyful, upbeat and welcoming foundation for our blended family.
We used to drive around Stirlingshire towards the Trossachs a lot during the pandemic - I used to live in Dunblane, and I just feel it's such a special place — particularly the views towards Ben Ledi. It was my absolute dream to have somewhere facing West, looking towards the Trossachs and have that beautiful west coast sunset over the hills at night. Then The Dairy came on the market and we just went for it. The timing was perfect and it felt 'meant to be'.
The Dairy (Image: Scotland's Home of the Year)
What's the history of the house?
The Dairy was previously the steading to the farm. Many of the old stone walls have been retained, giving the development character, but internally the properties are modern, spacious and bright. The property was designed and built by Mallet Construction who did such a fantastic job. They really did build our dream home.
What's your favourite thing about it – and does it have any unusual features?
I was struck by the space and dimensions of the property more than anything.
Everything has been designed and laid out so cleverly and rather than be designed to look good, which it does, it's been designed to view all aspects of the outside, while you're inside, which is really special. The way the floor to ceiling windows have been positioned throughout the property means that light floods into the house throughout the day, each room having it's 'time in the light' and really being the star of the house at that moment.
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My stepdaughter, Hannah's room has the wow factor in the morning, with the sun streaming in from the east, but it also comes to life again in the evening, thanks to the floor to ceiling windows in the hallway which allows the more golden, mellow light to enter the room from the west facing hallway window.
The sun makes it way around the house to the lounge and dining area in the afternoon and we spend our evenings on the balcony watching the evening light settle and the sun dip behind Ben Ledi. It's magical – all the colours that change in those last few hours of the day. The changing view and colours of the landscapes we see from the balcony is where I've taken so much inspiration from. You wouldn't think that candy floss pink, chestnut, teal blue, forest green, burnt orange and crimson red would go together in a room but when you see them all together in nature, they do. I trust in nature completely to influence and guide my interior decisions.
The house had been built and painted internally when we moved in, which was amazing as it allowed us to focus entirely on the interiors and creating that vision we had for building what we wanted to be a 'Happy Retreat', not just for us, but for all four of our children.
We had our shed built in the summer of 2023. A big project – it's a big shed but it actually really adds to the whole aesthetic of the home. It's made from larch, so it creates a real sense of warmth at the
back of the property which is uplifting in the spring and summer and cosy in the autumn. We named it, Ben Shedi, a little nod to our view of The Trossachs.
What are your design and decorating inspirations?
Initially, I had all my mood boards and plans and colour schemes, but once we moved in I ditched them. Living in and 'feeling' the property changed everything. I took inspiration from the views, landscapes and nature right outside our windows — the colour palettes you see in the views. Nature isn't about 'natural' colours necessarily - it's about bright pinks, pale blues, apricot, bright green and yellow, all the colours I've brought into the home.
I also drew inspiration from the places we've visited around the world and built the interiors around our experiences and memories. The wooden Pinocchio that sits on a table in the hallway - I picked this up in Florence, where Andrew and I got married, the painting of Pikes in Ibiza is a reminder of some of the nights we've had there, the picture of the Square Lighthouse in Islay, where we got engaged.
How would you sum up the style of your home?
I'd say it's Contemporary Scottish with global influences. The interiors reflect what I'd call Joyful Maximalism — more is more, but not too much. The home captures who we are as people, our personalities and passions. Colour emerged as the defining factor.
What would be your dream home?
Honestly, we've found it. The Dairy gives us everything we hoped for — views, light, space, warmth and complete joy. It feels like a retreat for our blended family and a home full of love and personality. I love that we have this place where everyone can come and go and be loved and looked after then head off back to their lives, usually with a load of food and their bags of washing done! Having this big blended family really is a joy and we all love this home.
Why did you decide to enter SHOTY this year and what was the experience like?
I actually entered two years ago but the time wasn't right - a lot of our furniture hadn't even arrived but the producers came back to me, did the recce and then we were told we were picked for Central Region. The experience was so much fun and the crew were just so lovely. I feel proud of breaking out of my world of neutrals, which is what my home was like before we bought The Dairy, so I was just so delighted to have the chance to share my inspiration and journey with colour, which I fully embraced! Scotland's Home of the Year is hands down my favourite television programme so having our home featured was just such a thrill.

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