An earl's pleasingly domestic country house in the Scottish Borders
Although substantial in size, the country house, just outside the town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders, has always been considered to have a certain friendliness. Princess Alice lived there a century ago, but the atmosphere prevails today and particularly appeals to the house’s current custodians, Walter and Elizabeth Dalkeith.
Built in 1802 and substantially remodelled between 1861 and 1867 by Scottish architect William Burn, the coral-pink sandstone house has been in Walter’s family – the Buccleuchs – for over 180 years. For photographer Walter, Earl of Dalkeith and heir apparent to the Duke of Buccleuch, the decision to move there with Elizabeth and their children was not without precedent, as the house has traditionally been reserved for whoever is the current Earl of Dalkeith. ‘The fact it has always been a family house means that it is incredibly liveable and well designed,’ explains Elizabeth.
When the couple decided to swap London for Eildon Hall, however, the four-storey house did not exactly scream liveable. The roof was leaking, the decoration had not been touched since Walter’s grandparents had overhauled it in the Fifties and the place had largely been left to lie dormant, save for a caretaker living in one part of it. ‘It needed rewiring, replumbing and reroofing before we could even consider decorating,’ recalls Elizabeth. ‘From the start, it was clear that it would be a long, substantial project.’
The couple recruited interior designer Olivia Emery at the beginning of the renovation in 2018. She had decorated their Victorian terrace in Shepherd’s Bush three years earlier and it was a ‘no-brainer’ to work with her again. ‘She really listens and we knew she’d breathe fresh life into it,’ says Elizabeth. For Olivia, who launched her studio in 2014 after 10 years with interior designer Broosk Saib, a project of such enormity was a little daunting. ‘But I knew from working with them on their London house that we’d all be on the same page,’ she says.
Working alongside Buccleuch Estate architects Raymond Shields and Callum Ramsay, and builder Sam Templeton, Olivia oversaw the decoration side of the project. On the ground floor is a drawing room, library, dining room, kitchen, two studies, a playroom and a games room, and there are eight bedrooms and six bathrooms on the first floor. Structurally, little could be changed as the house is Grade B (the Scottish equivalent of Grade II) Listed, but a few thoughtful tweaks were made. A couple of bedrooms became bathrooms, while two smaller bathrooms were knocked together to create a larger one.
Adding a pair of double doors between the entrance hall and the drawing room on the ground floor was perhaps the most controversial change, but one that hugely improved the flow of the house. ‘It was a big thing to get consent from Historic Environment Scotland for, but it does feel as if it should have always been this way,’ explains Elizabeth. Off the entrance hall, a former service corridor that eventually leads to the kitchen, became a smart boot room.
Creating a house that could stand up to the rigours of family life was key to Walter and Elizabeth’s vision, as was bringing in a contemporary twist. Since the Fifties decoration scheme was very much of its time, Elizabeth explains, they felt ‘liberated to decorate it in a way that is appropriate for now’. Other than the cornices, chimneypieces – a couple of which were moved from Dalkeith Palace, a former Buccleuch residence, after the First World War – and a chinoiserie wallpaper in the dining room thought to have been installed in the mid 19th century, there was little else to preserve decoratively.
‘It felt a bit like a jigsaw puzzle,’ says Olivia, whose starting point was to comb through the furniture and art the Buccleuch family had in storage. Other pieces, including throws and rugs, came from their lifestyle store, Restoration Yard, in Dalkeith Country Park near Edinburgh. ‘It was a case of respecting the 19th-century architecture and choosing new contemporary pieces that would slot in to create a harmonious whole,’ she adds. The dining room required the most exacting approach. Though a vast table original to the house remained in place, she explains that ‘we had to choose pieces that would distract from the fact that the wallpaper had rather a lot of fire damage’. A giltwood mirror, found in storage, does a good job of this and is balanced by a pair of bespoke chinoiserie-inspired cabinets and a contemporary blue Julian Chichester sideboard.
Blue, in fact, is at the heart of the jigsaw. Olivia painted all the doors in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Newburg Green’, which ties in with the spectrum of blues throughout the house, from blue units in the DeVol kitchen to the blue cornicing in the first floor hallway and the top-to-toe blue bathroom leading off it. Elizabeth and Walter decided early on to opt for soothing blues and pale pinks for the interconnected drawing room and library, which Olivia complemented with clean-lined sofas from David Seyfried in subtle plains.
There are punchier tones, too – egg-yolk-yellow ceilings on the first-floor landing and spare-room walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Sudbury Yellow’, which ties in with a playful frieze around the top of the room, added in the early 20th century. Equally joyful is the Scalamandré wallpaper in Elizabeth’s study, where zebras prance across the walls. ‘Though one of the smallest rooms, it is my favourite,’ she admits.
Quite clearly, every inch of this house is to be enjoyed. And as the children run up and down the hall, it is obvious that its ‘charmingly domestic air’ is set to remain.
Olivia Emery is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. Visit The List by House & Garden here.
Restoration Yard: restorationyard.com | Walter Dalkeith: walterdalkeith.com | Olivia Emery: oliviaemery.com
Paul Massey1/10An Ikea side table and a ‘Scallop Rug’, a collaboration between Salvesen Graham and Jennifer Manners, tone with walls in ‘Ethereal Blue’ from Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. The ‘Shaped Back Sofa’ and ottoman are from David Seyfried
Paul Massey2/10Two ‘Fontaine’ chandeliers by Aerin from Visual Comfort hang above the dining table. The chinoiserie wallpaper is thought to date from the mid 19th century
Paul Massey3/10In the dining area, Hans J Wegner’s oak ‘Wishbone Chairs’ partner Another Country’s ‘Dining Table One’ with Davey Lighting’s ‘Diner 125’ light from Original BTC above it. Panelling around the windows in ‘Van Courtland Blue’ contrasts with walls in ‘Paper Doll’, both from Benjamin Moore
Paul Massey4/10Walls in Benjamin Moore’s ‘Caliente’ showcase photographs from Walter Dalkeith’s To God & To Nature series, hung above Vaughan chairs in Christopher Farr Cloth’s ‘36 24 36’ linen in berry
Paul Massey5/10‘Zebras’ wallpaper by Scalamandré in serengeti green lines the walls
Paul Massey6/10‘Peace & Love’ linen in green from Christopher Farr Cloth was used for the headboard of the bespoke Julian Chichester ‘Demi 4 Poster Bed’ in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Hague Blue’
Paul Massey7/10Woodwork in ‘Varsity Blues’ from Benjamin Moore is softened by a blind in GP&J Baker’s ‘Kashmira’ cotton in aqua.
Paul Massey8/10‘Ledbury Swan Neck Wall Lights’ from Fritz Fryer illuminate the area around the window
Paul Massey9/10The walls are painted in ‘Antique Jade’ and the woodwork in ‘High Park’, both from Benjamin Moore. The photograph over the chimneypiece is by Walter Dalkeith
Paul Massey10/10The playful border around the top of the walls was painted by Cecil Aldin and dates from the early years of the 20th century, when this room was a nursery. A headboard in Sarah Hardaker’s ‘Dashi’ linen in teal stands out against walls in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Sudbury Yellow’. The embroidered suzani bedcover was a wedding present
