Townhouse Renovation, Manor Place, Edinburgh

This 19th Century townhouse is part of Edinburgh New Town UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as being listed category A by Historic Environment Scotland.

The property was used as an office prior to being bough by one of our former client in 2019. It’s always a great vote of confidence when previous clients give us repeat work.

The property had a basement, which the clients wished to sub-divide from the main upper floors and sell off as a separate property. Capital A got all the necessary approvals for this, as well as carrying out contract administration for the work in the basement.

The upper floors were a much bigger challenge. The client wished to create one of the best luxury private residences in Edinburgh. The property didn’t have a kitchen, because its previous use as an office did not require one. The best place for a new kitchen was on the ground floor but neither of the two existing rooms were large enough for kitchen and dining on their own, so we decided to join them by forming a doorway in the bow-ended recess of the front room. While this made logical sense, it wasn’t initially supported by Edinburgh Council during our Listed Building Application. The doorway was only allowed following a successful appeal.

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The first floor had a large front room with a panoramic view over the grounds of St. Marys Cathedral. This was fully refurbished and became a formal drawing room.

The rear room became the master bedroom, with a large, well appointed ensuite bathroom. The upper floor has four bedrooms, three of which are ensuite.

The entire property required new electrics, heating, plumbing, drainage, sprinklers and refurbishment of the walls, floors, ceilings, stairs and windows.

Capital A had previously worked with the small but talented team at Unique Project and they carried out the work on this property to an exceptional standard.

These properties were originally designed as high quality homes in the city centre. During the 20th century many were occupied by commercial firms but now a shift is underway to re-inhabit these buildings and create luxury homes again.

Life has changed over the past two centuries and the original layouts are no longer suitable for modern, family life. This project shows what is possible in an Edinburgh townhouse, with a little imagination and a lot of hard work.