When our client bought Bughtknowe it was a rather rundown Victorian country house but in a particularly attractive location in easy commuting distance of Edinburgh. Sensibly they decided to live in it for a year before deciding what to do. The front part of the house containing the principal rooms was well proportioned but did not “flow” well. The back wing of the house was a mess. It felt like quite a big house but actually it had surprisingly few bedrooms. The house was not listed so we considered that we could have a free hand to remodel it to suit 21st century family living. The design we worked out with the client rebuilt the rear wing on a bigger footprint whilst keeping it subservient to the more formal front part of the house. At ground floor level a spacious and light kitchen and family room is supplemented by various utility spaces and at the end of the wing is a study with windows looking out to the garden on three sides. A new stone staircase curves elegantly up into the generously wide top lit first floor corridor off which are a suite of bedrooms and bathrooms. Naturally the whole building was brought up to contemporary levels of servicing. Externally the new wing includes an element of old stonework but is mostly new stonework designed to harmonise with the original. The work was undertaken by the long established local firm of Campbell and Smith.