Bernard Street

With an ambition to create two contemporary residential apartments, our client acquired part of a Georgian office building in the heart of the Leith Conservation Area. Built in 1815, the building’s historic elements had been erased through successive commercial occupants. Following careful conversion and restoration, the space now provides two, light-filled apartments with flexible spaces for contemporary living that retain much of the historic character of the Grade B Listed Building.

When we gained access to the property, the space was completely disconnected from all utilities—no water, gas, electricity or drainage. Working within a tight construction budget of £750/m2, we applied a light touch to create the desired internal layouts. A single structural opening forms the open-plan kitchen/living area, and a new service zone houses the main bathroom and master bedroom en-suite.

As a conversion, we designed and implemented cost effective measures in acoustic separation and fire safety in order to ensure compliance with contemporary building regulations, and mitigated heat loss through new, slimline, double glazed windows. When designing the kitchen, we used off-the-shelf carcasses and fronts and made sure that budget was prioritised for those areas that received the most wear and tear. Worktops and handles were sourced for their quality and longevity. In the bathrooms, a wipe-clean microscreed was specified to the walls with tile accents.

This provided a robust surface that saved time and labour spent on tile cutting and trims on the existing, uneven walls. Much of the original historic features had been removed or were badly damaged due to years of neglect and mistreatment. These elements were carefully restored where possible; from cornicing to wall panelling, window shutters to architraves. Other elements that couldn’t be repaired, such as doors and radiators, were sourced from some of Edinburgh’s local architectural salvage yards.