TALK OF THE TOWN
After waiting years for the perfect Edinburgh base, Craig and Nick Unsworth upped sticks to make Blenheim Place their forever home, finds Nichola Hunter
Craig and Nick Unsworth waited years for their forever home, and they found it in Edinburgh's Blenheim Place
If you are searching for perfection, it pays to have time and patience. Fortunately Craig Unsworth had lots of both. Brought up on the east coast, Craig moved to Edinburgh when he was 15 and, after attending university in the capital, it very much became his home town. However, for the past 15 years he has been living and working in London and for the past six years, he’s been planning to buy a home in Edinburgh, but with very strict criteria.
‘I was looking for a property in the city centre that was one of a kind, which had access to green space and was one that I could put my mark on,’ he explains. ‘Immediately, my search was narrowed to about four streets, and in those streets not many properties come up for sale. I must have looked at the schedules of more than a hundred homes, and in the flesh maybe thirty, and nothing was right.’
Last year, devastated after losing out on a property in Albany Street, his luck changed when he stumbled across a garden and ground floor apartment in Blenheim Place. ‘It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for as some renovations had already commenced but it was perfect in every other way.
‘It felt like a house rather than a flat and it had access to Regent Gardens. My husband Nick and I got the keys in September and I finished renovating it in February this year.’
Having recently completed a refurbishment in London, Craig knew exactly how he wanted to handle this one. ‘I knew I hadn’t been brave enough in London so I thought I’m going to do everything I want in Edinburgh. Part of it is a bit over the top but I love it and I’ll never do anything in the future that isn’t over the top because I’ve found my niche.
‘As this was designed to be our weekend house I thought if it’s a bit much I won’t be living in it every day. Part of our plan was to use it a few weekends a month and the other part was to use Edinburgh as a base from which we could explore more of Scotland.’
Before Craig could do that, there was the small matter of redecoration to
“I’ll never do anything in the future that isn’t over the top – I’ve found my niche
consider. ‘I did a full set of mood boards and a to-do list for each room. I run a software company and I’m a proper geek, but this is the other side of my life. While this is not what I do as a day job, it is in my blood. My mum owned an interiors and gift shop and I worked in it holidays and weekends for about three years; interiors is something I’ve always wanted to do.’
Craig started with the sitting room and immediately decided to go dark. ‘I was considering black for the walls but eventually decided on Obsidian Green by the Little Greene Paint Company; sometimes it appears black, sometimes navy blue and of course, green.
‘I also wanted to fit a wood burner in the sitting room and main bedroom. There was already a fireplace and a fire, but it just needed something more. The log burners bring a real touch of rural bolthole to what is otherwise a city centre home and along with the dark green walls it set the vibe. To complete the look I introduced tan leather, mustard velvets and beautiful black, brown and green marble.
‘Whie I intended to continue the theme from the sitting room, I also wanted demarcation from the right side of the house – living – and the left side – sleeping. The predominant theme in the sitting room was marble. I didn’t worry too much about the kitchen cabinets, the main feature had to be the splashback. I spent an insane amount of time and money on this one which I found in Stonecraft who were incredible. It’s called Rainforest Green and it incorporates all the colours of the sitting room palette.’
The property came with planning permission to create an en-suite for the main bedroom but this idea didn’t appeal to Craig. ‘The property already had two bathrooms and two bedrooms so that was enough. The main bedroom in many Edinburgh properties can often feel quite soulless because they are huge, and they end up either crammed or empty and I really wanted to avoid both extremes. I therefore decided to consider all the things I’ve never been able to fit in my house in London such as a king-size, four poster bed, a fireplace with a couple of chairs around it, a nice reclining space to read and relax and a bath – hotel style. This bedroom could handle all of it.’
The room also had the proportions to embrace pattern and intense ones
at that. ‘I knew I had a big space to fill and it could take a bit of impact and when I saw this Vine Bleu wallpaper from Little Greene, I fell I love with it. This felt quite Scottish with leafy depths. It had actually been up for three weeks before I realised there was a bird hiding in the branches!’
Hidden birds aside, choosing artwork to complement such a bold scheme wasn’t easy. ‘It was difficult to find something that worked and then Nick found these Ibride trays in Liberty and I just thought they were the weirdest things – a dog and a rabbit wearing Elizabethan ruffs. They don’t match at all, but I like the cheekiness of them and how they sit on the wall. There’s a tradition in Georgian décor of hanging a portrait of the husband and wife at either side of the bed so the two portraits of Mr Mallard and Mrs Pigeon are our fun nod to it.’
While Craig was confident in his choices for the main bedroom, the guest room caused him real headaches. ‘It felt tiny and it certainly isn’t. It’s ended up the most eclectic room, with industrial lockers which serve as bedside cabinets, a velvet headboard which
I had made, Artemis wallpaper from House of Hackney and a geometric rug. I pretty much hated most of it until it was finished. I didn’t even unpack the lockers when they arrived, I was so convinced I’d got it wrong. Thankfully, now it’s complete it all works together.’
Which is just as well as this is no longer the couple’s weekend home, it’s their permanent one. ‘We’ve both recently recovered from Covid-19 and it’s given us a new perspective. In Edinburgh, we have a property that is in a brilliant location, it’s city centre but with access to Regent Gardens giving us the green space that was so important to me and it’s completely decorated to our taste with no concessions.’ Fortune favours the brave and the patient.
“When I saw this Vine Bleu wallpaper from Little Greene, I fell in love with it