Property Know

Edinburgh’s exclusive property review:

There is something vaguely ecclesiastical about the front door at 22c Polwarth Terrace in Edinburgh, which is actually tucked away around the back of this rather imposing detached Victorian villa, facing out on to the rear garden. This thought follows you into the vestibule where the arched timber doors look like they might have come from a church. Which they did, as it happens, owner and architect Sebastian Tombs having rescued them from a local church that was being demolished. “You see so much waste of lovely old things,” he says.

This individual approach is perfectly suited to this equally individual home, which Tombs, who is the Chief Executive of Architecture and Design Scotland, and his wife Eva, a homeopath, bought in 1983, when they moved in with Eva’s three children. The couple’s approach to house-buying was unusual in itself as they weren’t buying alone. “There were a number of people we had connections with who were looking to relocate,” says Tombs, “so we decided if something big came up we would buy it together and divide it up.”

The perfect opportunity arose when the entire house at number 22 came on the market, having been lived in by the one family since the 1920s. The scale was right, while the house is easily accessible to the city centre yet is set within the quiet and leafy Merchiston and Greenhill conservation area. (It would be a good home for a writer, as Tombs observes, given that the likes of Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith live nearby: “The area’s local magic would be bound to rub off!” he says.)

The couple bought the house with two other sets of buyers, and Tombs’s first big negotiation was over who was getting which part of it. The basement level went to a young family who wanted direct access to the garden, while the grander rooms of the middle section became home to a retired teacher and her companion, with the Tombs taking the upper villa, which gave them the option of then extending into the attic.

Most people would find tackling one property a challenge, yet Tombs had the task of creating all three homes “and everyone had different things they wanted from the space,” he says. As with any big project, there were glitches along the way when developing this upper villa. Dry rot was discovered when the doorway was opened up on the ground level, and again when Tombs opened up the giant shutters in the drawing room. The bulk of the work was completed over six months, although the spaces were still a little rough around the edges when the family first moved in, when they would come in through a hole in the wall and then a clamber up a ladder as the lower section of stair wasn’t in place.

Things are certainly more comfortable these days. The main accommodation is on the original top floor and revolves around the central landing. There are three bedrooms on this level, although the smallest, which is currently used as a study, is accessed from the master bedroom, so this could become a generous en suite. The expansive bay-windowed drawing room has its original timber flooring, ornate cornicing and giant marble fireplace, while there’s also a family bathroom and a large dining-kitchen that Tombs designed with a raised cooking zone. “From this slightly elevated level, we could keep an eye on the kids playing in the garden,” he says. He did consider opening a doorway between the drawing room and kitchen for a while, creating a flow of space between the two, and that possibility remains for the next owners.

The attic level was developed in 1985 after the couple had their three youngest children and needed the additional space. It was a huge task as all the materials had to be trailed up through the house, but this has created another five rooms which have been used as bedrooms although Tombs has taken one as an office, along with a compact shower room and small kitchenette space.

Tombs also designed the timber staircase leading up to this level to reflect the existing stair below, and included a wide window seat on the half-landing which proved a popular spot with the kids when they were young. It’s been a great family home, he reflects, and the things he’ll miss most are the light on these upper levels and the stairs “because running up and down them all the time keeps you fit!”

The fact that the Tombs are now downsizing to the basement property - so not leaving at all, really - probably says all you need to know about their enjoyment of living in this grand old house.

Source: http://property.scotsman.com