This traditional croft house is the best home in Scotland

New Tolsta – a traditional, early 20th century croft home in Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland – is a actually unique property that was formerly uninhabited for 37 decades.

The house is property to artist Tom Hickman, who bought the making in 2006 and painstakingly restored it more than 15 many years to its previous glory, while incorporating his own exclusive model all through.

Crammed with Tom’s artwork and mixed with traditional items of household furniture, New Tolsta was unanimously topped the winner of Scotland’s Household of the Year 2022 by the three judges – inside designer Anna Campbell-Jones, architect and lecturer Michael Angus, and way of life blogger Kate Spiers.

The charming home, filled with historic artefacts and quirky memorabilia, follows a common two-up, two-down structure. Within you’ll locate a kitchen, dwelling room and bathroom on the floor floor, with two bedrooms upstairs.

The interiors are expressive of Tom’s character and style. Lending by itself to the cluttercore aesthetic, just about every area appears like a museum, with a treasure trove of curated objects embedded in record, exhibited as if it can be element of the household furniture.

Highlights include things like a assertion hearth, walls filled with paintings and tapestries, and painted flooring. You will find an overall wall of blue and white china plates on open shelving in the kitchen area, though the ornate and elaborate bed room comes to existence many thanks to a extremely simple backdrop of painted tongue and groove panelling. And there’s also a doll’s property, which has been built as a mini replica of New Tolsta.

All in all, this house has a stately household truly feel with an eclectic, lived-in aesthetic – every single corner presents an chance for innovative expression. ‘If I continue to experienced the strength I might really like to do it all around once again but upkeep function will constantly be demanded,’ suggests previous antiques dealer Tom.

Anna, Kate and Michael’s lookup for Scotland’s Household of the 12 months took them the length and breadth of the nation. House designs provided cosy very little households, grand and quirky conversions, stunning self-builds, and environmentally-welcoming residences.

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“I you should not assume we have ever noticed these an fantastic example of a home meeting these conditions,” Anna clarifies. “The overpowering feeling of the individual who lives there communicated through the cornucopia of his incredible creations, from the painted flooring, to the embroidery to the artwork on the walls, all by his own hand – what a genius!”

Kate was particularly thrilled with the Tom’s determination to staying authentically eco-conscious: “All the things in the residence experienced been repurposed, upcycled, thrifted or rehomed. It was inspiring to see.”

In the meantime, Michael concludes: “If house is a marriage of inhabitant and assets, what stood out about New Tolsta was how specific that romance was, how correctly suited both appeared, both equally infusing the other creatively and spiritually. It wasn’t the building nor the location which produced New Tolsta unique, even with just about every becoming amazing in their personal way. Fairly it was the rejuvenated spirit blossoming so vibrantly within just, serving to build an unforeseen long term for a setting up probably considered condemned. What worse destiny for a developing, than uselessness? And what better than acquiring fresh prospects revealed?”

See additional photographs of New Tolsta beneath:

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