Merchiston Villa

This generously proportioned Victorian stone-built villa has been reconfigured and thermally upgraded throughout to provide a comfortable, joyful family home. 

Key aspirations for the project were to open up the house to its underused yet sunny back garden, enhance the kitchen and living areas, and create seamless connections throughout. A new picture window at the end of the hall immediately draws attention to the garden upon entering, while repositioning doors has created a harmonious enfiladed sequence of spaces along the back of the property. Sliding pocket doors open up another axis from front to back, and oak herringbone flooring provides continuity. 

The single-storey side outshot has been fully insulated to form a new dining area, utility room and shower room. The ceiling was raised to expose original timber beams, with large rooflights introduced and slim profile sliding doors offering direct garden access.

Original features have been retained, refurbished and celebrated, including timber doors and skirtings, a colourful stained-glass window and the original patterned encaustic tiled floor. Patching and repairs, where necessary, have been carried out in a sympathetic but visible manner, preserving original fabric, with new high-quality materials patched in alongside. Similarly, new external openings have been formed re-using existing stone where possible, with new stone carefully patched in and tooled to match existing.