An Edwardian mansion in Glasgow's West End rescued from 'rack and ruin' is in the running to be crowned Scotland's Home of the Year.
"The first time we laid eyes on the house there were nesting pigeons," says John Dawson, laughing, who bought Kirklee Mansion with his partner Dr Jason Mokrovich in 2016.
Originally three separate townhouses, the impressive property is now split to form single-level apartments with the couple's apartment sitting on the first floor.
Judges Anna Campbell Jones, Banjo Beale and Michael Angus visit three would-be finalists in the West of Scotland for the penultimate week of the hit BBC Scotland show.
READ MORE: First look at 'dream' B-listed former manse featured in hit BBC show
The owners spent a lot of time restoring Kirklee Mansion to its former glory, maintaining key architectural details throughout including the barrel vaulted ceiling while bringing it up to modern standards with triple glazing and LED lighting.
"It's an old property but where we can we done a mixture of the antique and the modern," says Mr Dawson.
"We added the extra dimension in terms of we rescued the fireplaces, we refurbished and renovated some period pieces such as the plasterwork.
"There was a stunning mirror in the living room which was shattered and we had to get a specialist in to do that.
"The developer was going to put in what would get them a reasonable return whereas I wanted to retain the period features so we had to pay a premium to do that separately."
The property was designed in the late 1800s and completed in 1904.
The original owner was Sir George Arthur Mitchell, a Scottish mining engineer, who was director the Clydesdale Bank and Midland Bank and of several collieries.
READ MORE: Highland log house in the running for Scotland's Home of the Year
"He was really into the Glasgow Boys and the creative arts. That's why there are so many amazing features in the house in the first place."
Mitchell lived there until 1948 at which point it became a care home for orphans and older people and in the 1980s the building was abandoned.
The couple’s favourite spot is an armchair called Lilibet which has the best views of their expansive living room and sits under a picture of its former owner.
"You can sit there and stare out at the trees in Summer and in winter you get to look at the buildings across Great Western Road."
Anna Campbell Jones declares their home "Just the right side of Liberace" while Banjo describes it as a "complete showstopper."
Michael Angus said: "You would not displace a note in a piece of music and you wouldn't displace a thing here."
The couple are both movie lovers and the house pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock with a replica of a painting from the movie Vertigo.
READ MORE: Couple's 11-year 'labour of love' project to renovate mansion
"The picture we have got in our house was originally stolen from the set," said Mr Dawson. "
Disney actually employed an artist to recreate the original and by pure chance. - we just bumped into the artist in a bar in Portland, Oregon..
"I asked him if could buy it and he said it was just sitting in his living room doing nothing."
The couple say it was important the apartment was a "sociable home" and it has certainly fulfilled their wish. They once hosted a lavish Christmas party and invited the entire neighbourhood.
"We love doing buffets and Christmas dinners and discos. It's a very, very sociable house," said the owner, who works for Public Health Scotland while his partner is employed by the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership.
"We are working-class boys made good," he says laughing. "We are not poor but we are the poorest people in our neighbourhood."
The judges also visit the Bright Bungalow, a 1950s extended property in Kirkintilloch and Elmhurst, a converted, Victorian villa in Greenock.
Scotland’s Home of the Year's penulitimate episode will be screened on Monday at 8.30pm on BBC Scotland.
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