Double delight in a dwelling ideal for a duo

A compact mews with royal views in Edinburgh could be the perfect home for a couple, writes Kirsty Mcluckie

The Foundry, at 51 Abbeyhill on the eastern edge of Edinburgh city centre is an unusual property to say the least.

It is a conversion of an outbuilding, probably first built in the Victorian age to serve as a warehouse or storage for the foundry next door, but over the last two years it has undergone a dramatic conversion to residential use.

It is also a property that can count the Royal Family as near neighbours, but despite its comparative modesty in size, it is an impressive home.

Dave Moffat bought it as a project with his partner Evanna Mcniven.

Dave, who owns his own building company, had carried out some work on it for the previous owner.

He says: “It was a shell when we bought it, so we started from scratch and made the most of the limited space inside.

“The previous owner had started the renovation but hadn’t finished it and we weren’t keen on some of the fittings so we took them out and started again.”

The project was completed in between Dave’s day job of building and renovating homes for other people.

Work at the Foundry included designing and installing new windows and doors, plastering, electrics and plumbing and fitting a new kitchen and bathroom, however, the couple had a real vision of how to make the most of light and the views by keeping the little house as open plan as possible.

Some of the windows in the mews had to be bespoke, because of the unusual shapes involved, but the variety gives a quirky feel to the interior.

Dave took on the bulk of the heavy work, while Evanna, who works in finance, designed the interior.

The previous owner was a writer and had envisaged a raised platform for a writing desk – with views of the Palace of Holyroodhouse – though Dave and Evanna decided that a more practical use would be to keep that part of his design but turn it into a dining area.

Like the rest of the property, it is small but perfectly formed.

A bank of roof windows makes sure that the whole of the first floor, which is the open-plan living area, is flooded with light but there is still plenty of privacy from the road outside.

Glass balustrades and the three different levels of the room – the kitchen is three steps down from the sitting room while the dining room is three steps up – delineate the space without creating physical barriers or blocking the light.

Downstairs is the main entrance to the house, a double bedroom and a shower room. Both the bedroom and the shower room have windows, but the hall only has the glass in the front door to let in daylight so the decision was made to include glass panels in the bedroom door.

Dave explains: “We figured that the house was only ever going to be suitable for a couple, so a glass door into the bedroom would not be a problem for privacy.”

From the first-floor living area a door opens to a surprisingly private decked terrace at the back, which like the house is not huge, but is perfect for a single person or a couple.

A glass balustrade has been fitted which