Look deeper in the interior for hidden gems

With some properties the “wow” factor is most definitely tucked away on the inside, discovers Kirsty Mcluckie

House sellers are always advised that kerb appeal is vitally important, but some properties hold their secrets until you step through the front door.

A surprise property – one whose interior presents a feature that is not at all what you expected from the outside – certainly provides a “wow” factor, which is one of the indefinable selling qualities which can add value and desirability.

After all, if you are impressed at first glance, it is tempting to imagine this experience being repeated for every visitor to the property during your tenure.

Mews properties, particularly those tucked away down a quiet lane in a city centre, can be amongst the most surprising.

Converted from stables, coach houses or other outbuildings, they may look humble on the outside but can reveal a sleek modern interior.

You might be forgiven for bypassing the property at 12 Belgrave Crescent Lane in the West End of Edinburgh hidden away among a row of garages.

But step inside and the centrepiece of the three-bedroomed property is a very contemporary first-floor open-plan sitting room, dining room and kitchen with a barrel-vaulted ceiling dominated by an overhead cupola.

The house has a sizeable balcony which leads to the large west-facing roof terrace complete with a seating area.

All three bedrooms are ensuite and the house has a separate utility room, pantry and an integral garage, making it one of the largest mews in the city.

Elsewhere in the Capital, Eden Bank can hardly be seen at all from the street.

But go through a gate in the wall on Newbattle Terrace in Morningside and the detached cottage with private southfacing garden is revealed.

It is a very pretty place; the house has a large conservatory with a mature grapevine, a sitting room with French doors to a conservatory, a dining kitchen and a cellar.

Upstairs are two bedrooms, one with a fireplace and the other a Juliet balcony, and a bathroom with shower.

In the garden there is a brick-built studio with double-glazing, insulation, electricity and a phone line.

All of this is secreted away in a private oasis, well away from public eyes.

Meanwhile, Millburn, in the village of Galston in East Ayrshire, was built in 1960 and its timber construction, weatherboard cladding and stone finish makes for quite a plain exterior.

However, the split-level house is something of a gem of its era on the inside.

There is a superb dining room with picture windows affording fabulous views overlooking the landscaped private gardens and the fields beyond.

A sliding door leads to the living room with exposed full-height stone fire surround with slate hearth and a fullwidth custom-built library.

There are two sets of patio doors each leading to the beautiful west-facing gardens.

While you couldn’t describe it as an ugly duckling, like many houses of the 1950s and 60s it is designed for life on the inside, looking out.