A select few materials appear throughout this apartment in Edinburgh, which architect Luke McClelland has revamped to let its historic features take centre stage.

The two-floor apartment is located in Edinburgh's New Town, set within a Grade I-listed building that dates back to the 19th century.

Successive years of modifications meant that the home's grand Georgian proportions and historic details had all but disappeared.

Local architect Luke McClelland was tasked with sensitively stripping back the interior to reveal its original charm.

"The muted interior is intended to compliment, rather than detract from, the existing building," he explained. "A simple material palette was agreed with the client: Ceppo Di Gre stone and oak."

He started by incorporating the kitchen into the apartment's generously sized dining room. A bespoke oak wood counter crafted by local joinery studio Archispek now centres the space.

One end of the counter serves as a dining table, while the other end has a stove that's set into a slab of Ceppo Di Gre stone.

The same stone was used to build the work surface that runs above a series of low-lying oak cupboards at the rear of the room.

The former kitchen has been transformed into a utility room where appliances and other household items can be stored, a move that McClelland says will allow the new kitchen to "maintain its clean, sculptural lines".

More storage is provided by arched nooks punctuating either side of the opening that looks through to the living area.

Plump blue Togo sofas by French brand Ligne Roset and expansive abstract paintings by Edinburgh-based artist Arran Rahimian were added to the space to soften the appearance of its stark white walls.

The home used to have carpet and vinyl flooring. But this was peeled back to reveal the original pinewood boards, which were carefully sanded and oiled to bring back the brilliance of their grain.

One exception is the hallway, where porcelain tiles were uplifted to expose flagstones underneath, while the original staircase was repaired and restored.

The project also saw McClelland merge two small storerooms to form a bathroom, complete with Ceppo Di Gre wall panelling.

A new doorway was created between the kitchen and the utility area. Any other major structural changes were avoided so that the building could uphold its listed status.

This isn't the first home that Luke McClelland has completed in Edinburgh. In 2022, he updated a Georgian apartment in the city's port district of Leith, reconfiguring its convoluted layout to allow in more natural light.

A few years earlier, he also revamped his own home in the Comely Bank neighbourhood to feature a series of modern, airy living spaces.

The photography is by ZAC and ZAC.

Project credits:

Designer: Luke McClelland Design
Construction: Pawlowski Constructions
Kitchen fabrication: Archispek
Living room artwork: Arran Rahimian