HERITAGE INTERIORS
Period interior decoration
Period cornicing repair, ceiling-rose restoration, hand-cut lines for listed and Conservation Area properties across EH10.
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EDINBURGH · MERCHISTON
Award-Winning Painters and Decorators in Merchiston
Late-Victorian villas along Merchiston Avenue and Merchiston Park, Polwarth Crescent family residential, Hartington Place affluent terraces. Borthwick has worked Merchiston for decades — decoration on period villas, period-correct paint specification.
4.9 / 5average rating
175+verified reviews
1959est. — 65 years of craft
£10 millionpublic liability cover
Welcome to Borthwick Decorators Merchiston
Borthwick Decorators works on Victorian villas, family residential and Conservation-Area terraces across Merchiston EH10. Six decades of Edinburgh experience. 175+ verified reviews at 4.9/5 rating.
Victorian villas, Polwarth edge.
Merchiston is the late-Victorian villa belt south-west of Bruntsfield — the family residential along Merchiston Avenue and Merchiston Park, with the Polwarth fringe to the south and the Napier University George Constantine Building anchoring the heritage character. Property stock is dominated by late-Victorian detached and semi-detached villas, affluent Hartington Place terraces, and family-residential conversions.
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 MERCHISTON
Our painting and decorating services in Merchiston
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.
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Recent work in and around Merchiston
ABOUT MERCHISTON
South-west Victorian villa belt.
Merchiston anchors the south-west Victorian villa belt — the mid-to-late nineteenth-century residential expansion that produced one of Edinburgh’s most coherent suburban-villa characters in the EH10 family belt. Property stock is dominantly late-Victorian detached and semi-detached villas with substantial Conservation Area coverage.
In practical terms it means period-correct Victorian paint specification, hand-cut lines for period cornicing, sash-window repainting, and the operational care appropriate to occupied family villas.
EDINBURGH CLIENT FEEDBACK
A small sample from our Edinburgh portfolio.
We had Borthwick decorators decorating our hall, it's a tall townhouse with some difficult to reach areas on the staircases and the paper we had asked them to hang was not the easiest. The quality of work was notably high and teh attitude and professionalism was even higher.
We had Borthwick decorators decorating our hall, it's a tall townhouse with some difficult to reach areas on the staircases and the paper we had asked them to hang was not the easiest. The quality of work was notably high and teh attitude and professionalism was even higher.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Working with us in Merchiston.
Do you take on listed and Conservation Area work in Merchiston?
Yes. Parts of Merchiston sit in City of Edinburgh Council Conservation Areas. We hold the heritage finishes specialism and documentation discipline conservation officers expect.
Which streets do you cover?
All of EH10. Strongest concentration of recent work on Merchiston Avenue, Merchiston Park and Polwarth Crescent.
How do you handle occupied family homes?
Most Merchiston work is occupied. We agree daily start and finish times, 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 Merchiston 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