This first-floor flat in a 19th-century building in Edinburgh’s historic New Town had suffered from several unsympathetic alterations before being carefully refurbished by GRAS in close collaboration with our design-led clients, Nina and Craig Plummer. Original features were delicately revealed and new elements thoughtfully introduced throughout the property, which was built in 1878 to house a church hall and offices. An expanded kitchen and enlarged opening onto the living space retain the sense of the original layout through the addition of panelled double doors that fold back to reveal crafted pieces of furniture by designer Sebastian Cox for deVOL Kitchens.

Highly curated new details sit beautifully alongside time-worn elements, whether existing or introduced. The flat has been attentively updated to reflect the slow-living philosophy promoted by Nina and Craig through their online homewares store, Ellei. The flat also serves as a studio used for styled photoshoots of Ellei’s products, so the design had to encapsulate the values of thoughtful homemaking. The renovation project retains the bright and spacious feel of the rooms along with a sense of building’s history, whilst providing spaces that are suited to a contemporary, considered way of living.