A couple caused outrage on Grand Designs last night after 'trashing' a walled-garden in a historic Scottish estate by building a huge modern extension.
Iain Shillady, 38, and his wife Jenny, 37, swapped Edinburgh for Kinross to restore the 150-year-old bothy at Briglands after purchasing it for £225,000.
The pair wanted to turn the property into a dream family home by building a black state-of-the-art extension into the walled garden - all with a budget of £350,000.
However, Channel 4 presenter Kevin McCloud was left gobsmacked after seeing the new structure and was worried it would 'destroy the beauty of the garden'.
During the building process, he told the couple: "Well you've trashed the garden and put a great black lump in it."
The neighbours were not happy with the renovation either, with the one admitting his wife was 'upset' by what they did to her former garden.
Fred, who lived in one of the nearby houses for 40 years, said: "I was hoping they would keep most of the planting and shape of the garden.
"My wife, who is an expert, is a bit disappointed with the state of it at the moment. I hope they will get to grips with it and put it back to somewhat what it was before."
With no turning back, architect Iain said: "We're taking a really mature garden and making it a building site.
"We have to make it a lot worse before we start to put it back together."
During the build, the couple were faced with major setbacks, including the coronavirus pandemic and a rotting roof which needed to be replaced.
After spending £400,000 on the project, the couple were finally able to move into their family home after moving to the building site in spring 2021.
Kevin couldn't help but be taken aback by the finished home, and called the house 'exquisite'.
He said: "It's actually a hint of a secret garden through the glass. And as for the bothy, there's more than a hint of quality about that.
Ian admitted admitted the pair had gone over budget by £50,000 and said the build was a huge pressure to finish.
He: "It was quite a lot of pressure. My optimism gave me a false sense of security that I could handle it all really well and there were times when it felt like a huge pressure and I was going to crack."
Grand Designs viewers had mixed review about the property, with some not happy over the modern renovation.
One wrote on Twitter: "Not a fan of tonight's build. The black cladding is quite the eye sore. It's nice but it's lost its heritage and original features, especially the garden."
Another commented: "Can't disagree with Kevin at all so far. Look at this, lovely engineered beautiful buildings... next to a lump! Still didn't ask how the planners agreed to it."
A third said: "This week's build is making me feel sad. For the loss of a beautiful walled garden and the lack of conservation. I hope things change."
Meanwhile, one heaped praise on the couple and wrote: One of the best episodes of Grand Designs in a long time.
"Nothing pretentious or unnecessary, just a great couple with the vision and ability to create something sublime from the ridiculous. Top notch."
What do you think of the property? Let us know in the comments below.
