The real Grand Designs
THIS WEEK: Architectural gems which stand the test of time
SCOTLAND has produced more than its fair share of amazing architects and while stellar names such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson tend to hog the limelight, lesser-known architects have created some of the country’s most attractive homes.
Take the grand villa set high above Fenwick Road in Giffnock, near Glasgow. It is the creation of James Salmon, responsible for some of the city’s most ornate office buildings constructed in the final years of the 19th Century.
Principal among them is The Hatrack building in St Vincent Street, the kind of commercial property where it still must be a joy to go to work.
A few years after The Hatrack was completed in 1906 Salmon turned his attention to creating a stylish residential building on what would have been at the turn of the 20th Century a rather distant city suburb.
The railway station had opened in Giffnock in 1866, which provided the platform for rapid housebuilding.
Number 224 Fenwick Road was constructed high above the main road between Glasgow and Ayrshire. Salmon equipped it with all the delicious touches of the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements. It retains the leaded stained glass windows, decorative cornicing, original parquet flooring and a splendid inglenook fireplace.
Its master bedroom was originally a ballroom and one can only imagine the magical ‘flapper’ nights held there in the 1920s and 30s.
Its maid’s room has been converted into the perfect TV room or study.
The owners of this handsome house, however, cannot be accused of dwelling in the past. The en suite bathroom of the master bedroom has been upgraded with Villeroy & Boch sanitaryware in a lovely contemporary arrangement.
The dimensions of the principal apartments carry echoes of years gone by. No longer do builders provide family lounges measuring 24ft by 14ft. The dining room is just as spacious.
Giffnock is frequently cited as one of the best parts of Scotland to live in. With top-rated schools, it is handy for the M77 into Glasgow or Ayrshire, while Prestwick and Glasgow airports are each no more than 25 minutes away.