HERITAGE INTERIORS
Period interior decoration
Period cornicing repair, ceiling-rose restoration, hand-cut lines for listed and Conservation Area properties across EH1, EH2, EH3.
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EDINBURGH · NEW TOWN
Award-Winning Painters and Decorators in New Town
Georgian terraces on George Street and Charlotte Square, Royal-Crescent set-pieces on Moray Place, Heriot Row and Drummond Place townhouses. Borthwick has worked the New Town for six decades — conservation-officer-aware heritage decoration, hand-cut lines, period-correct Georgian-paint specification.
4.9 / 5average rating
175+verified reviews
1959est. — 65 years of craft
£10 millionpublic liability cover
Welcome to Borthwick Decorators New Town
Borthwick Decorators works on listed Georgian townhouses, Moray estate set-pieces and EH1/EH2/EH3 World Heritage homes across Edinburgh's New Town. Heritage period-property specialism, hand-cut lines, conservation-officer documentation. Six decades of Edinburgh experience. 175+ verified reviews at 4.9/5 rating.
Europe's largest Georgian plan.
The New Town is the 1767 James Craig masterplan — the largest Georgian planned cityscape in Europe, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. George Street and Charlotte Square anchor the original grid; Moray Place, Heriot Row and Drummond Place carry the early-nineteenth-century expansion. The property stock is almost wholly listed: Grade A and Grade B sandstone townhouses, mansion-flat conversions and basement-and-floors family homes.
Decorating the New Town is a heritage trade. City of Edinburgh Council Conservation Officer documentation, period-correct Georgian palettes that hold across estate guidelines, period-correct making-good of original fabric, hand-cut lines on period cornicing. Borthwick has worked the address book from our 93 George Street office — on the Craig grid itself — for six decades.
AWARD WINNING
2025 Cultural Renovation Project of the Year
2025 Residential Category
2024 Private Domestic (Pre-1919) Project of the Year — Contract Manager 2024
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WHAT WE DO IN NEW TOWN
Our painting and decorating services in New Town
WALLPAPER
Wallpaper hanging
Feature walls to whole rooms — walls lined first, patterns matched, seams tight. Designer papers and wide-width vinyls hung properly.
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KITCHENS
Hand-painted kitchen cabinet
In-situ cabinetry painting using Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell or Little Greene Intelligent Eggshell. Brush and roller on-site, no spraying.
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STONE & EXTERIOR
Sandstone & masonry coatings
Lime washes, mineral paint and breathable systems for Edinburgh sandstone elevations. Scaffold or tower hire coordinated.
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DESIGNER-LED
Designer or architect-specified
Sample boards in Farrow & Ball, Little Greene and Paint & Paper Library. Site meetings as part of the design team. RIBA briefs executed.
Learn moreRECENT WORK NEARBY
Recent work in and around New Town
ABOUT NEW TOWN
The Craig grid, the Moray estate, the World Heritage core.
The New Town is the residential heart of Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Craig 1767 grid — Princes Street, George Street, Queen Street, the cross-streets — anchors the original First New Town. The 1820s Moray estate (Moray Place, Ainslie Place, Randolph Crescent) carries the most architecturally accomplished circus-and-crescent set-piece in the country. Most of the stock is Grade A or Grade B listed.
In practical terms it means conservation-officer documentation, period-correct Georgian palettes (Farrow & Ball Historic Colours, Little Greene Heritage), hand-cut lines on period cornicing, careful preparation of original substrates. Borthwick has worked the postcode from inside the postcode — our 93 George Street office sits on the Craig grid.
EDINBURGH CLIENT FEEDBACK
A small sample from our Edinburgh portfolio.
Mariuz arrived promptly, did a very good job, cleared up extremely well after his visit and was very pleasant and courteous.
Excellent job. High standard of work very reliable hardworking and professional. Great job done -very clean and tidy job. Completed the work( external painting of large house) in 3days.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Working with us in New Town.
Do you take on listed and Conservation Area work in New Town?
Yes. Most of New Town sits in a City of Edinburgh Council Conservation Area with substantial listed-building density. We hold the heritage finishes specialism and the documentation discipline conservation officers expect.
Which streets do you cover?
All of EH1, EH2, EH3. Strongest concentration of recent work on George Street, Charlotte Square, Heriot Row and the surrounding residential streets.
How do you handle occupied family homes?
Most New Town work is occupied. We agree daily start and finish times with the household, dust-protect the working zone, and walk the family through the plan each morning. Daily clean-up is non-negotiable.
What is your lead time for residential work?
Four to six weeks typically. Listed-building consents add six to twelve weeks of pre-work paperwork; we handle that liaison.
Do you work with interior designers and architects?
Regularly. We support sample boards in Farrow & Ball, Little Greene and Paint & Paper Library, attend site meetings as part of the design team, and execute to RIBA briefs.
NEARBY AREAS
Areas near New Town we work in.
Accreditations & memberships
Public liability insurance to £10 million.
PDA
Painting & Decorating Association
SDF
Scottish Decorators Federation
SSIP
Safety Schemes in Procurement
Trusted Trader
Edinburgh — Trading Standards Vetted
SafeContractor
Independent H&S Verification
CHAS
Contractors Health & Safety
SMAS
Safety Management Advisory
PASMA
Mobile Access Towers
IPAF
Powered Access (PAL)
CONTACT — EDINBURGH
Speak to our Edinburgh team.
Borthwick Decorators Ltd93 George Street
Edinburgh EH2 3ES