Kitchens in the Lothians

The Lothians are our home patch, and we are usually able to get out to survey within days rather than weeks. Coastal East Lothian - North Berwick, Gullane, Dirleton, Aberlady, Dunbar - brings large villas where the kitchen is being opened out to the garden, often with an island, a boot room off the back door and a butler's pantry hiding the working end of the room.

Midlothian and West Lothian are weighted towards family housing: Dalkeith, Bonnyrigg, Penicuik, Livingston, Linlithgow and the new estates along the M8 and M9. Those rooms are structurally straightforward, so the money goes into layout, internal fittings, worktops and appliances rather than into making cabinetry fit an unsquare wall.

Between the towns sit the cottages, steadings and converted farm buildings where nothing is quite square and ceiling heights change halfway across the room. Handmade cabinetry earns its money here: units built to the actual dimensions, cornice scribed to a wavy wall, and tall storage taking the full height instead of leaving a dust shelf.

We also plan for how these houses are used - dogs, boots, coats, drying space and a second sink matter as much as the hob. Boot rooms, utilities and pantries are designed in the same finish and quoted alongside the kitchen rather than bolted on later.

Because nowhere in the Lothians is more than a short drive from Dalziel Place, snagging and aftercare are simple. If a door needs adjusting a season later, or an appliance needs a warranty visit chased, we are close enough to deal with it properly rather than posting you a part.

Electrics, plumbing, plastering, flooring and decoration are all carried in house, so a Lothians project runs on one programme with one point of contact from first drawing to handover.