Homes: Inside large family home in Penicuik full of period features

Take a look inside this large family home in Penicuik full of period features, currently for sale.

Who

Tracey and Ben Paxman with their twin girls, Bonnie and Drew

What

A detached five-bedroom Victorian property

Where

Penicuik

Pictures: Nest

Our house has a rich history as part of Penicuik’s paper-making industries and its builder and original owner, James Tait, was also connected with the nearby historic Penicuik House.

We bought it nearly four years ago after we moved back to the UK from Amsterdam where our kids were born. We were looking for a spacious family home where we could host friends and family.

We came across this house on ESPC and viewed it as fast as we could. The detached Victorian property was built around 1890, and we loved that the previous owners had done a lot to bring the house up to date while being mindful of its age, as well as its space, light, flow and proportions. We bought it in summer 2020 and moved in October that year.

The house sits at the foot of the Pentland Hills and has five bedrooms, a large bay windowed living room, dining kitchen, dining room, study and large family bathroom we renovated in 2022.

The previous owners had brought many of its traditional features back to life and we continued to do that throughout the house, such as uncovering the original floorboards under carpets. We were keen to put our own mark on it while also remaining sympathetic to its history.

In the hallway, we removed all the painted-over wallpaper and decorated in a lighter colour to make the most of the big, impactful stairway window and large landing. Removing 100-year-old wallpaper was no mean feat but it made such a difference.

We started our bathroom renovation in summer 2022. We were keen to design it in keeping with the age of the house, but with modern touches and design features. We wanted a big, luxurious bathtub as well as a walk-in shower and introduced panelling to the room, similar to the original panelling under some of the windows in the house.

In terms of decorating, we wanted a relaxed, lived-in atmosphere with special and personal touches throughout. It always felt like the house had many a story to tell, and we wanted to build on that.

We used a lot of Little Greene, Paint & Paper Library and Farrow & Ball paint colours throughout that are deep and rich, and suit the age of the house and the size of the rooms. We’ve painted the ceilings in some of the rooms too given their size and height so they feel cosy and cocooned.

We love the fact that our big, spacious house also feels so welcoming and homely. We’ve hosted big family Christmases here and had almost 20 of our closest friends all come to stay without feeling on top of each other.

The personal and eclectic mix of items we’ve simply loved and collected over the years, big and small, all contribute to that feeling.

Tracey’s home is for sale via ESPC, and can be viewed online at espc.com