Window of Opportunity

It took vision, lots of hard gra and a good deal of ingenuity to turn this rot-ravaged wreck into a desirable family home.

- Caroline Ednie

Fresh from a major renovation project (converting a former grain store and stables in rural Perthshire into a home), Martin and Louise McBride decided to relocate to Edinburgh to be closer to family. They made the move determined to take a break from self-building. Martin tries to explain just how all-consuming and rigorous the Perthshire experience had been: “To give you an analogy, I once ran a marathon, but I’ve since read a piece of advice in a running magazine that you should only run your next marathon when you’ve forgotten about the last one! That’s how I felt about taking on another big renovation.”

But the couple’s hopes of having an easier ride with a new property were quickly dashed. “It was ten years ago, during the boom, and we kept missing out on the houses we liked,” says Louise, who, alongside Martin, has since founded the Edinburgh-based architectural practice Urban Creatures. Their lack of success in the market meant they found themselves considering more radical and less desirable options.

“When we first went to view this property, the windows were boarded up. Our hearts sank. It had clearly lain derelict for a few years,” continues Louise.

Investigating the interior did little to raise their spirits: “I think it had been owned by an equity release company, who had done nothing to it, and it had really deteriorated. It had dry and wet rot and vermin. Some of the ceilings had collapsed and there were holes in the floor. There was also a toilet sitting in the middle of the hall. It was horrific!”