Imagination and creative space planning saw an Edinburgh apartment refurb bring all the elements together to give the owners the ideal composition
TEXT NIK HUNTER IMAGES ZAC+ZAC
When grandparents Alan Patrick and Cynthia Croatti spotted this West End apartment in Edinburgh in January 2020, they snapped it up without even viewing it in person. Their son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were living on the ground floor and basement of the building, and they knew it would make the perfect base for them when visiting. However, while their son’s home benefitted from beautiful period features, their first-floor apartment was going to need rather more creative input to become the stylish city pad they were hoping to enjoy when they were staying in Scotland.
With their main residence in America, Alan and Cynthia were looking for a home from home when they came to Edinburgh. Through their son and daughter-in-law, they were already knowledgeable about the building and the area in which it sat, but while the city centre location was spot on, the condition of the property inside was lacking aesthetic appeal. “The exterior architecture was lovely,” Alan recalls. “Internally, it was very basic, and had been untouched for many years. It required a complete renovation in all aspects both decoratively and functionally.”
Having come across Jeffreys Interiors online, the couple approached the company even before the sale had gone through. “This was brilliant from our point of view,” says Carley Kyle, one of Jeffreys’ lead designers. “The property had never been modernised; it didn’t even have central heating! It was a complete rip out, back to the bones.”
Alan and Cynthia’s brief was for a cosy, stylish, and comfortable Scottish home. “I asked them to send me images of things they liked from an interiors and style point of view,” Carley explains. “They also referred us to a previous project of Jeffreys’ that they had seen and loved from the website. They were good at giving me ideas right from the start as to their likes or dislikes. From a designer’s point of view, it’s good to have clients who aren’t afraid to say what they don’t like; this is just as helpful to your design team than telling them what you do like!”
SOME STRUCTURAL CHANGES
Aside from the visual brief, there were also some structural changes on the wish list such as adding an ensuite for the principal bedroom, a utility room, a small WC, and relocating one of the bedrooms and kitchen. Carley’s first point of call was therefore to Edinburgh-based architects, GLM. “We had to do a lot of space planning and produce different layout options for the property. We don’t have in-house trades teams, but we do work alongside some excellent contractors that we’ve established good relationships with over the years, and we love getting involved with projects like this.” Carley and GLM put their plans to Alan and Cynthia through a series of Zoom meetings and eventually they were whittled down to a final floor plan.
The original layout which consisted of a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom at the rear of the property, and a sitting room and second bedroom at the front, is now a distant memory. The kitchen has been relocated to the front and the wall between the bedroom and sitting room has been removed to create an open plan kitchen/dining/living space. A new dividing wall was then erected in the kitchen to incorporate the utility and WC. “In the middle of the property there was a room which wasn’t large enough to be called a boxroom, but it was bigger than a normal cupboard,” Carley recalls. “We borrowed from that to create an ensuite
for the principal bedroom.“
This ‘borrowing’ still left a cupboard in the generously proportioned hallway which was crying out for a bit of creative impact. “The door to the cupboard faces you as you enter the apartment, and we didn’t want to simply have a door.” Carley worked with cabinet makers Peden & Pringle to construct a bookcase and secret door, and while the space is essentially still just a store cupboard, aesthetically it’s much more interesting. “It was just one of the type of fun details that the owners were up for.”
Another of these fun details is the delightfully inventive ‘doggy’ space in the utility room. As Alan and Cynthia’s dog travels with them, the couple asked for a designated space for the dog bed. Peden & Pringle made all the cabinetry in the property along with the secret door/bookcase, and it was they who suggested the little pull-out drawer for the dog bowls. “It’s a lovely detail, and as a dog owner myself it made me so happy as I’m forever tripping over the water bowl!”
Peden & Pringle also worked their magic with the bespoke cabinetry in the bedrooms where Carley was keen to maximise the limited storage opportunities. “Many of the Edinburgh properties we work on have beautiful high ceilings which are impressive but look ridiculous with average-sized wardrobes. They look like furniture from a doll’s house and it’s a shame to waste all that space especially when many of these properties don’t have an attic or under stair storage.” By going bespoke, Carley was able to build the wardrobes right up to the ceilings and adding a ladder system which hooks on and off when required is a practical and stylish solution.
Surprisingly, although the proportions of this period property are what one expects in this part of Edinburgh, the other details were something that this home was sadly lacking. Bizarrely, the ornate features one would expect were nowhere to be seen. All the cornicing, ceiling roses and the beading detailing in the living room and hallway were added by the contractors. “This is unusual for a property of this age and style in Edinburgh. It hadn’t been modernised, yet it had no architectural features of note in it, and we have no idea why.” Carley adds: “We’ve also been inside many of the properties nearby and of course we’ve seen the client’s son’s home which is in the same building, and it has the most beautiful period features.”
Bringing back these features did however stand Jeffreys’ Interiors in good stead with the planning department. “There was a bit of back and forth with planning because of the new layout but demonstrating that we were going to upgrade the cornicing and create an apartment that was more in keeping with the rest of the apartments and how this would improve the overall building certainly helped our case.”
There was one original feature that Carley was keen to save but sadly, although the original wooden flooring was also untouched, during the renovations the decision was made to renew it. Carley’s plan had been to retain it, but with the installation of new plumbing and electrics and the relocation of the kitchen it proved impossible. “With all the work that had been carried out, it was beginning to look like a patchwork quilt, and as everything else was brand new we made the decision to replace all the flooring, so it didn’t look out of place.”
Once the structural changes were complete, Carley and her team set to work on the decor – opting for a muted, dark colour scheme to create the cosy but stylish Scottish vibe that the clients had asked for. While this scheme is certainly on trend, it was also chosen to create the appearance of space, as Carley explains: “Keeping the same tones and colour palette throughout helps the rooms flow into each other – nothing jars.”
Other ‘designer’s tricks’ were also applied to help this flow such as staining the doors on the kitchen cabinetry to match the sitting room colour scheme and fitting satin brass handles throughout to provide continuity and link the rooms together. The same concept was applied in the principal bedroom and ensuite, where the taps are either satin or brushed brass, and were selected to complement the light fittings and sockets in the bedroom.
“I think one should always spend the same amount of time designing a bathroom as any other room in a property; bathrooms shouldn’t be utilitarian, they should feel just as welcoming as a bedroom or living area, and never cold or clinical.”
To achieve this welcoming ambience, Carley suggested the use of Orac and Wall Deco panels. Made of duropolymer, Orac looks like wood but is incredibly lightweight, versatile and easy to paint. These panels were fitted in the ensuite above the bath and disguise the door to the storage cupboard where the every day bathroom paraphernalia is hidden. On the other wall, Wall Deco bathroom panels were fitted. These panels look more like wallpaper but are actually made from a thick hessian material which is treated so that it is suitable for use in bathrooms and showers.
“Carley’s ideas, colour palette, decoration and decor all fitted our wish list,” says Alan. “Her bold use of colour and texture really resonated with us and while we hadn’t thought about the use of large, bold patterned wallpaper and dark colouring beforehand it all works wonderfully well for a city pied-à-terre.”
“It helped that Alan and Cynthia were very trusting,” says Carley. “They have done several renovations in the States, and they knew the importance of enlisting an expert team, building a good relationship with them and then letting them run with what they all do best.”
In Carley’s case, it was the strong colour scheme that she wanted to run with. “Large scale designs and dark colours on walls are bold but as long as you bring in good lighting and accessories that can stand up to them, it’s an effect that works really well even in smaller properties. This wasn’t a huge property, but the clients really pushed the whole team to get everything into it,” Carley remembers.
“For a small footprint, this property works incredibly hard. When the clients came over mid-renovation, it really was a building site and then the next time they saw it was when they arrived a couple of days before Christmas to move in. That’s when we made it a full turn key experience. The tree was up, the wreath was on the door, and everything needed was in the kitchen from glasses to cutlery. I think it was a lot to take in, but they were delighted.”
Cynthia summarises her feelings about the flat: “It is absolutely gorgeous. I love the colours, textures and the light fittings in particular, and the hidden closet was a fabulous idea. I also adore the Julian Chichester chest in the sitting room; Jeffreys have redesigned the interior to create a bar space, it’s a wonderful feature.” Alan concludes: “The collaboration between the architects, builders and designer proved to be a winning combination. It’s been a pleasure.”
HIGH POINT
“It’s hard to come up with a single high point. It’s really a combination of all the elements coming together, the scope and scale that creates the impact which we love”
– Alan
LOW POINT
“To be honest I don’t think there was a low point. The teams we worked with were all fantastic and everything ran very smoothly – which I don’t get to say too often!”
– Carley
CONTACTS/SUPPLIERS
PROJECT MANAGER/
INTERIOR DESIGNER
Jeffreys Interiors
ARCHITECTS
GLM
MAIN CONTRACTOR
BANN
KITCHEN/CABINETRY
Peden & Pringle
BATHROOM PANELLING
Orac Décor
BATHROOM FIXTURES
Albion Bath Co.
Cast Iron Bath Company
London Basin Company
LIGHTING
Visual Comfort & Co.
Heathfield & Co.
Porta Romana