Moving on Up

Having bought an apartment as a second property, Neil and Will Harman changed their plans and made it their main home after seeing potential in the huge attic

- By Karen Wilson. Photographs by Katie Lee

‘Our previous kitchen had two islands,’ says Neil. ‘I basically replicated the exact size of the more sociable one with the hob, where we would congregate around.’

Infinity handless kitchen units, Wren Kitchens. Island front colour matched to Farrow & Ball’s Middleton Pink. Lighting, West Elm. For bar stools, try the Sienna, Dunelm

BEFORE

Neil and Will Harman had always loved the popular town of Bridge of Allan in Scotland, so when a three-bed apartment above a shop came on the market, they were eager to view it. Although the configuration of two bedrooms at the front and a small kitchen at the rear didn’t work, knocking the bedrooms together to create a kitchen-diner and turning the old kitchen into an office/guest bedroom unlocked the property’s potential. And with a huge attic, there was scope to create two more en suite bedrooms. Having remodelled several Glasgow tenements and a Victorian villa, the couple had ample experience of renovating. Here they talk us through the trials and tribulations of their project…

NEIL SAYS…

‘We bought this three-bedroom apartment on a whim as a second home or perhaps an Airbnb, but later we discovered the amazing attic space. We realised it was ripe for conversion and could be our main home. The previous owner had passed away and the décor was poor with nicotine-stained walls, but it had good bones with grand period cornicing.