BANN Joinery & Building

BANN Joinery & Building is Edinburgh’s leading construction company. Working alongside the city’s top architects, BANN Joinery & Building specialises in delivering traditional and contemporary design ideas from sympathetic restoration of period properties to cutting edge new build homes. BANN works closely with their clients to create living spaces that excel in both style and functionality.

James McAuley, Director at BANN, has always had a passion for beautiful design ideas and creating light spaces which offer flexible living. James’s particular passion is restoring period properties that work for 21st century living.

A recently completed project was a full renovation of a tired Grade A listed drawing room apartment in the capital’s exclusive Carlton Terrace overlooking Princes Street. The apartment formed part of a former town house designed by the great William Henry Playfair, Scotland’s most renowned 19th century architect. The apartment had lost its character over the years as a result of the property being used for various commercial and domestic purposes over the decades which had seen a number of unsympathetic renovations.

The client was looking to completely restore the apartment back to its former glory. It formed part of a hotel in the 1920s, a NHS nursing school in the 1970s and then it was brashly converted back to a domestic home in the 1980s – which had resulted in most of the original period features being removed or covered up. The scale and complexity of this renovation had the potential to throw up a number of challenges so James and the client sat down and had a detailed discussion about the design brief which was to create contemporary, flexible living whilst embracing Georgian style of harmony, symmetry, light and intricate mouldings.

The BANN team began this project by consulting with a neighbour who owned a similar apartment in the building which had retained most of its original features. The team took profiles of the architraves, skirting boards and other mouldings in order to create exact replicas. The team were also able to take mouldings from the small sections of ornate cornicing that was still intact.

The internal doors which were originals were stripped back to the original pitched pine and new door surrounds were built up. A beautiful set of double pocket drawing room doors were crafted and installed to create a defining feature between the drawing room and the master bedroom. Floors were levelled throughout and parquet flooring was laid using French oak blocks. To complete the drawing room, a Chesney fireplace was fitted along with a statement chandelier.

In the bedroom the newly-installed ornate cornicing was highlighted by a lighting design and two small rooms were built to either side of the drawing room doors which were designed to look like two identical bespoke panelled cupboards to house a new W/C and a fire escape. The panelled cupboards were designed to replicate the mouldings on the bedroom pocket doors which were made using reclaimed nine foot by three foot shutters.

Both the kitchen and the bathroom were bespoke designs. The bathroom was sourced from Italy and consisted of a stand-alone bath that was added in the centre of the room along with a walk in shower and a set of touch open, handle-less, bespoke wardrobes for storage were also added which blended seamlessly with the room. The client had seen a particular style of bathroom tile in an upmarket London hotel and BANN were able to source. To complete the project, all sash and case windows were fully restored and a palette of neutral shades was chosen which was added to all walls, ceilings and wood work to compliment the intricate features of the property.