Is this Edinburgh's most stylish Airbnb?

At the sightseeing epicentre of the capital, this Old Town refurbishment has created much more than an Airbnb tourist crash pad.

Interior designer Lisa Guest is no stranger to transformations. After meeting her husband Olly and relocating from Los Angeles to Edinburgh last year, the couple worked on the interior of their ground and garden flat in the city’s New Town – a space they redesigned with a gorgeous colour palette, a beautiful new kitchen and eclectic touches throughout, and which they have since sold.

“I’d been looking for work here and Olly and I had been talking about doing property letting together,” says Lisa, explaining what led the couple to purchase this one bedroom apartment on West Bow in the city’s Old Town last September.

Picture: Lisa Guest

The couple hadn’t been searching in that area specifically, but as Lisa says: “When I saw this flat it had a really cool vibe to it. I’d only moved to Edinburgh in July so I didn’t really know about the location, but Olly did.”

This area around the Grassmarket is a prime location for visitors to the capital, making West Bow an ideal spot for a holiday let apartment.

The Royal Mile is just a two-minute walk away, while four minutes takes you up to Edinburgh Castle – unless you’re distracted by the array of shops and cafés on Victoria Street that is.

And West Bow isn’t simply great for tourists – it’s close to the University of Edinburgh and within walking distance of the West End and the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Even before relocating to Scotland, Lisa had been searching for a similar type of project while in California.

“When I was living in LA I’d been looking for a house that needed complete renovation, to do and sell, so it felt comfortable moving here and taking on a smaller project,” she says.

This one bedroom apartment required a complete overhaul, from the floors and the décor to the kitchen and bathroom fittings.

“My initial concepts for the flat were completely different to what I actually did,” says Lisa.

Picture: Lisa Guest

“I was going to make it a little more modern and streamlined, as I was thinking of the Airbnb customer and what they might want, but in the end I had so many pieces of furniture and accessories that I’d brought with me from California that I mixed the vintage pieces with some new things.

I think it’s given the space a more ‘old world’ feel while still having this clean and fresh look.”

Every room in West Bow Retreat has been transformed.

One of the first design decisions Lisa made was to create a more unified appearance with the floor finishes, so the mix of carpeting and laminate flooring was stripped out and she retained the original timber floors in the living room and bedroom, and laid striking geometric cement tiles in the kitchen, bathroom and hallway.

Picture: Lisa Guest

Lisa sourced these tiles from Edinburgh Tile Studio, and the geometric pattern creates impact as soon as you walk in.

“I’m so happy with how these have turned out,” says Lisa. “These tiles are beautiful and pretty indestructible if you seal them right – we had to seal these three times. I’ll definitely use them again in another project.”

The bathroom was reconfigured to create a better layout and an increased sense of space.

Notably, Lisa didn’t specify smaller fittings to work within a small room.

Picture: Lisa Guest

“A modern vanity unit can be wall-mounted and you have open floor space below, but I didn’t want a super modern feel in here,” she says.

Instead, she chose a chunky pedestal basin, and echoed this with the tap fittings and toilet, and also with the shower and the triptych mirror, all from Victor Paris.

She combined these traditional elements with sleek white subway tiles, floor-to-ceiling, and a low-profile shower tray with a simple glass screen.

“The basin was a bit of a gamble here, but I love that look; it’s classic and I don’t think it’s ever going to go out of style,”

As for the subway tiling: “I splurged on the cement tiles so needed something cost effective – they make it feel like a wet room.”

Picture: Lisa Guest

Lisa retained the layout of the existing kitchen but changed every element within the space, specifying contemporary Shaker-style white cabinetry from Howdens and adding delicate brass handles from Anthropologie with handmade tiling.

“These tiles were double the price of the ones in the bathroom but I love the long and thin subway look,” says Lisa.

Picture: Lisa Guest

In the living room, Lisa debated over whether to go for dark or light flooring, but chose the latter option and then added depth to the space with darker pieces of furniture and accessories.

The teal sofa bed from Sofa.com (which means that this one bedroom apartment can sleep four people) was the starting point for the palette, and Lisa picked up the gorgeous teal hue in the vintage ceiling pendant she sourced from Vinterior.

“It’s Italian, either late 50s or early 60s,” she says. “I wasn’t sure if this would match the sofa, but it’s perfect.”

Picture: Lisa Guest

The other pieces offer an eclectic mix, from the West Elm sideboard to the Anthropologie dining table and the vintage dining chairs and sisal rug from California.

The sling chair came from The Citizenry, while the ladder is from Lawson Fenning, both again brought over from the States, while the oil paintings were picked up much closer to home.

“The art came from Lindsay Burns auctioneers in Perth,” Lisa says.

“There are some Edinburgh pieces that we bought there, while one piece came from Bacchus Antiques, right across the street from the flat.”

Lisa chose paint colours from Paint & Paper Library and Farrow & Ball – whose dramatic Blue Black features in the bedroom.

“I’ve never used this colour before but I knew it would be right,” she says.

Picture: Lisa Guest

“I like a bedroom to be cosy and have that sense of warmth, and this hue really changes in the light.”

Lisa combined the inky blue walls with dark timber pieces, with a second sideboard from West Elm and bedside tables from Georgian Antiques, and with brass accents in the bed and the glamorous pendant light, both from Anthropologie, and in the slender and elegant floor-standing brass lamps from John Lewis.

Picture: Lisa Guest

Having recently launched this flat for bookings, Lisa has already had some great feedback: the first guest reviewed the apartment with a 10 out of 10.

Picture: Lisa Guest

By mixing design references and adding some bold touches, Lisa has created a space you’d be more than happy to spend time in whatever the weather in Edinburgh might throw your way.

For more information on Lisa’s design work please visit her website.

Words: Fiona Reid