Our clients had bought a 1930s bungalow with fantastic views across Duddingston Golf Course to Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags and wanted to create a modern and sustainable home for their growing family.

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Although tired and suffering from a cramped and inaccessible front entrance, a poor relationship with the gardens and some inefficient and outdated internal spaces, the house had 'good bones' and characterful period features.

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I identified areas where the existing layout could be made to work better, combining a small scullery and former maid's room to form a modern open dining kitchen, with new double doors punched through a former cupboard to the original hallway. A redundant 'leg' of corridor was reclaimed to form a new accessible shower room, and the existing bathroom became a smart new master ensuite.

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Meanwhile, a striking contemporary extension to the side and rear provides a spacious new living area stepping down internally to open directly onto the garden via generous glazed doors, making the most of the dramatic views. A new side entrance designed to fully accessible standards provides direct access into the heart of the house along with an additional WC and utility store. The roofline is kept deliberately low to respect the integrity of the original house, with a distinctive zinc-clad flare to the front and rear eaves as a reinterpretation of the original roof bell-cast. Sustainable untreated larch cladding is used throughout.

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The design includes bespoke features to suit the clients' lifestyle, including slot windows providing a sitting place at child height, and new pocket doors to the kitchen incorporating neat display shelves and reclaimed handles.

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Completed while at McLaren Murdoch & Hamilton

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