Sculpt out a creative and quirky lifestyle

Former artist’s studio in Edinburgh has been transformed into an inventive city home, finds Kirsty Mcluckie

The house at 4B Polwarth Terrace is known as the studio – not because it is a studio flat – although it does look quite modest when viewed from the front.

The traditional coach house is tucked away behind a wooden fence and sits in a very private garden, but is now a world away from the carriage house and staff accommodation which must have been its first incarnation.

It is known as the studio because it was the work space of sculptor Charles Pilkington Jackson who, in the 1960s, created the iconic statue of Robert the Bruce sited at Bannockburn.

So a new owner can claim a unique piece of Scottish art took shape inside these walls. And going into the property is a bit of a revelation in itself.

A wide entrance hall flows through to a modern kitchen-breakfast room which features a breakfast bar.

From here, double doors lead through to an open-plan sitting and dining room.

The double-height space is flooded with natural light from a vast full-drop window and the room has original wooden floors and elaborate cornicing detail. A wine cellar is accessed from the sitting room and this floor also has a contemporary shower room.

Elsewhere, the ceiling height varies greatly. A large mezzanine master bedroom has been cleverly designed above the main living space, which benefits from the cornicing detail, wonderful natural light and excellent storage.

A bedroom space has been tucked into the mezzanine, along with a dressing area.

Also on the first floor is a separate cloakroom and two charming double bedrooms, one with an ensuite bathroom with bath and overhead shower, which are a little more traditional in size and shape.

Outside, there is a private, south-facing garden with Astroturf and patio areas, offstreet parking for several cars and access to the cellar storage.

Gregor and Jayne Lawson have owned 4B for five years and Gregor says that it was love at first sight when they viewed the property.

He recalls: “We were really clear that we wanted a coach house.

“We didn’t need masses of space, as it was just the two of us, but we were moving from a flat and wanted somewhere a little bit different.

“We bought it from a couple who had

just started a family and who were finding living here a bit of a squeeze. But they had originally bought it from the architect who converted it.

“As soon as we walked in we knew we wanted to live here.”

Gregor goes on to say that the main initial attraction was the open-plan nature of the living space. “There are huge barn doors as you go in, but you walk in to the kitchen and the main living area. Upstairs is a little more higgledy-piggledy.”

Although the Lawsons liked the interior of the house, they too have changed the layout in their time, as Gregor says “to make it a little more sensible”.

He explains: “The mezzanine level when we moved in was a bit too open-plan. Two years ago, we put in what our architect, Iain Shillady of Staran Architects, calls a sleep pod which has enclosed the master bedroom.