A listed house in the Scottish borders sympathetically restored

This magnificent house in the Scottish Borders had fallen into sad disrepair when our clients bought it. Our challenge was not only to save the fabric of the house, but to transform it into a comfortable and practical home for a family who had been living in Switzerland. This was not just a question of moving house but of moving countries! 

Being a listed building, the house required sympathetic restoration, with emphasis on repair rather than replacement. We did, however, manage to gain approval for one significant structural change. The kitchen on the lower ground floor could only be accessed via a dark and narrow servants’ staircase. For a young family, we needed the big, renovated family kitchen-come-breakfast room to link to the rest of the house. We extended the main staircase from the hall down through the middle of the house to the lower ground floor. This new layout brings the house together, providing the heartbeat of the home. 

When it came to decoration, we were sensitive to keeping as much as we could of the original interior in the formal reception rooms, restoring the characterful old leather that lines the study and colour-matching the very particular shade of green paint in the library. The beautiful sash windows, with views over the countryside, led us to a gentle palette of soft greens, dusty pinks, heathery blues and creams. This is a house that reflects different decorating traditions as well as embracing a European flavour. The master bedroom, for example, is predominantly white and cream, but with antique Dutch furniture set against cool, linen-clad walls.

Weather also influenced our choices. In the borders of Scotland, the wind can be biting, and in winter the snow comes thick and fast. We had to think hard, in particular, about how to make the bedrooms feel like warm sanctuaries. To this end, we used fabric walling in rich colours, wallpapers with cosily enveloping patterns, and thick materials at the windows. Above all else, this has given the house a remarkably welcoming feel.

Modern English: Todhunter Earle Interiors by Emily Todhunter and Kate Earle. Text by Helen Chislett. Published by Vendome Press.