The Herald Style/ Interiors by Heather Macleod 29/11/2008

INSIDE EDGE

"Its not just the views that make this period piece a beauty to behold"

When your grandly proportioned period apartment comes with one of the most transfixing views in Europe, there's always a danger of the outside eclipsing the interior. It's easy to be wowed by the sight of Edinburgh Castle from the Kitchen window of Ross and Jill Mitchinson, but their home in the capital's Manor Place remains a spirited living space.

It wasn't always so. When the Mitchinsons brought the property last April, Jill felt the views were all it had in it's favour. Now that Interiors refurbishment specialist Trendenza has transformed the three-bed roomed apartment, however, Jill has radically revised her opinion.

" I have to admit, when I first walked through the door I thought Ross was mad", says Jill, a Solicitor from Kildare, Ireland. "But while it needed a substantial amount of work, I could see the potential, as it is such a vast space with high ceilings and tall windows. Although we are based in London, Ross is from Dunfermline and has family in Edinburgh. We visit Edinburgh all the time, plus Ross's work as a stockbroker means he is up and down on business on a regular basis.

"Ross had just sold a flat around the corner last April when he came across details of this place and went ahead and brought it. It's a second-floor flat with hallway, drawing room, master en-suite, two double bedrooms and dining kitchen, and has more floor space than our Victorian terraced home in London."

The couple had considered several companies by the time they met Trendenza's Creative Director, Becki Linley, but quickly realised she was on the same wavelength as them. Linley worked closely with the Mitchinsons, designing room layouts, deploying a works team and project managing.

"We went over the proposals for products, configurations, and fixtures and fittings, right down to ironmongery", says Linley. "Due to the scale of the work, the schedule exceeded 12 pages." At the initial meetings with Linley, the couple talked through key priorities. "It was such a vast white space, with uneven walls and skirting boards, a 1970's kitchen and shabby bathrooms", says Jill. "The inefficient central heating system had to be addressed, plus we wanted all the sash windows in working order.

"Our aim was to restore a feeling of grandeur in keeping with the period but with a contemporary twist, whilst retaining a feeling of warmth and intimacy. We have quite classic taste but Becki's influence steered us towards more funky wallpapers and daring colours."

As they were working off-plan, Linley chose the wall coverings as a starting point, basing the room schemes around those core colours. All wall coverings were sourced from K&K Designs, Grand Cru and Bazaar books, which specialise in textural sueded papers. Linley mixed the feature wall coverings with emulsions from the Delicate range by Johnstones.

In keeping with the apartment's style, Trendenza recommended lighting from Heathfield and Co. " Jill was happy to go with this suggestion, as this was in line with her vision", says Linley. " We married the looks by introducing lanterns which bring a sense of the Traditional against the modernistic coverings. The window dressing is all by Osborne and Little and Nina Campbell ranges, while simple stylised poles and holdbacks are from Cope's Portfolio Wood ranges which compliment the silk and Linen curtains and were made by our team George and Lynn."

One of the most significant transformations was the reception hall which had been top heavy with dado rails and radiators. Carpeting was replaced by Wenge flooring which runs through to the Kitchen, the white walls made way for striped green K&K wallpaper, while the radiators were edited down to one.

The Kitchen also balances aesthetics with functional living. The Hamilton range of cabinetry from Howden's, personalised with a Zebrano worktop and black composite sink, offset with iridescent black tiles and matching nickel sockets. "Naturally, we have a window seat to make the most of the Castle views," says Jill. " I found the Nina Campbell fabric for the seat and Roman blind months ago and just knew it had to go somewhere. Becki tied the colours in with Burgundy running along the top of the units and a feature wall."

Jill is particularly thrilled to have a dining alcove, something her London kitchen lacks. Outfitted with a glass-topped dining table and suede chairs, the space is given a jolt of colour from an image taken from the book Nowhere, a collection of photographs by Glaswegian photographer David Yarrow, a friend of Ross's. All proceeds from the book and prints go to children's charities. Another Yarrow print, this time a highland setting, dominates the drawing room, co-ordinating with the moss-green tweed curtains.

"We found the drawing-room furniture at Lombok in London, which specialises in Malaysian and Indonesian furniture and ties in well with the big comfy sofa's" says Jill. "Although the sofas are in a more delicate blue-green shade, with the dark furniture and heavy curtains, it doesn't look too girly."

The most dramatic room is the master bedroom, with it's black marble fireplace, velvet matte feature wall in navy, and Nina Campbell silk curtains. With black singled out as one of this season's most seductive shades, the room has a sense of modern glamour.

Linley styled the bathrooms on two specific themes-cool and contemporary for the newly created master en-suite shower room, and understated elegance for the main bathroom, unified with modern fittings and under floor heating." As Trendenza works with Cosmo Ceramics," she explains, "We specified the tiles from new ranges filtering through to the Uk, such as bold, textural charcoal Daugres tiles, cream Damascato, and leather effect Aurelia, to create a feeling of indulgence."

The second bedroom took it's style cue from the K&K patterned wallpaper Jill had fallen in love with. A pewter bed, charcoal silk curtains and black wall lights together give a mood of muted magnificence. The smallest bedroom has subtle browns and gold's, with a feature wall behind a simple leather bedhead.

"Everything was finished by October and we remained pretty much within our budget." says Jill. "My family has been over from Ireland and adore it. I'm just so proud showing people round. I think we'll be spending almost all our time in Edinburgh now".