A rare townhouse on one of Edinburgh’s grandest terraces is up for sale – with interiors by Robert Kime

When a heavyweight of interior design dies, the chance of ever living in a house designed by them becomes that much smaller. However, lovers of the work of Robert Kime, who died in 2022, have been handed a golden opportunity to buy a stunning Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh which the designer himself devised during a glittering career which included redesigning Clarence House and Highgrove for the then Prince Charles.

Set on one of the grandest terraces in Edinburgh’s early 19th-century New Town, the house counts seven bedrooms and four bathrooms among its many strengths, as well as four to five reception rooms. It was built by the Scottish neoclassical architect William Henry Playfair in the 1820s, who was also responsible for much of the immediately recognisable fabric of Edinburgh; Playfair also designed the National Gallery of Scotland and Edinburgh’s Royal College of Surgeons.

Laid out over four floors, the large house includes a self-contained two-bedroom flat at the garden level, while the ground and first floors comprise an extensive living space. Typical of a Robert Kime design scheme, period details have been respected and enhanced in line with the designer’s love of heritage and historical quirks, creating a sense of quiet grandeur in the house without sacrificing liveability.

An entrance hall, for example, features an eye-catching barrel-vaulted ceiling, while in the main drawing room tapestries hang from the walls beside three sash and case windows. A marble fireplace and elaborate plasterwork enhance the period effect.