Edinburgh Apartment: Contemporary Living In An Iconic Historic Building
There’s probably nowhere more stylish to live, in Edinburgh, than 1 Donaldson Drive.
The Playfair building was designed by William Henry Playfair in the style of an Elizabethan Palace and completed around 1840. It was widely reported as one of Scotland’s great landmarks and it is said that Queen Victoria preferred it to her Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse.
For much of its time the building served as a college for the deaf.
In recent years the building has been completely renovated and brought back to its former glory, now converted into stunning apartments and very grand communal spaces.
Apartment 22 is a one-off and is currently on the market with a guide price of £550,000. It is built within the old “Boys staircase”, surrounded on all four sides by almost one metre thick sandstone walls.
It has two double bedrooms, each with a sizeable en-suite, plus a further WC. The ground floor reception room is bright, airy and benefits from a double height ceiling and the statement kitchen is a very sleek design and houses all of the usual appliances.
The contemporary haven inside the apartment is complemented by the stunning external architecture and the surrounding 16 acres of gardens, both formal and informal.
As if the apartment and building weren’t enough the location couldn’t be better, sitting on the border of Edinburgh’s West End and wester Coates neighbourhoods. Basically, everything that you can think of (international rugby, major concerts, International Festival, Fringe Festival, theatres, art galleries and the general beauty of Edinburgh), are all on the doorstep.
For travelling further afield there are two allocated spaces in the secure underground carpark, plenty of bike storage space, a tram stop almost at the end of the driveway and Haymarket railway station just a minute or so beyond that.
The apartment is 101.5 sq metres (1,092 sq feet). It would make the perfect home for a small family or a fantastic Edinburgh pied-à-terre.
Edinburgh has so much to offer, and this apartment is the way to do it in style.
All photos belong to the property owner.
