A love of the tropics and their colours
inspired Paula Sincair to transform her Edinburgh home inti a cosy haven for
her family
After many years as a diplomat in South
America, Paula Sinclair turned her back on blue skies and tropical climes and
went house hunting … in Edinburgh. It certainly was not the weather but family
life that drew her to Scoland’s capital city, but once there she fell in love
with the elegant classical architecture of its buildings. American- born Paula
had been a diplomat before having her two sons, Philip, 23, and Nick, 18, and
soon found a gorgeous Georgian terraced house in the classy New Town area of
the city. She set to transforming the ‘very brown, dark and dated’ home- ‘I
coud not wait to heat up the interior’- with bold, bright colours, painting the
reception rooms gold and the dining room in punchy red. ‘The idea of walking
into a cool- coloured house in winter just did not appeal,’ she says. Now
divorced, Paula has recently fine- tuned the décor, with a nod to the vogue
for neutral and pale shades, which she has used in the kitchen and hall. But
she still can not resist colour and pounced on a bold, patterned fabric to add
oomph to her new kitchen. So which ideas have worked for her?
Breakfast bar: the Fifties- style fabric used on the
kitchen upholstery was found locally and adds a jazzy touch to the breakfast
area. The table surrounded by benches built as a corner unit makes the most of
the space for family eating.
Mis oriental and modern
Paula brought many pieces of furnuture back
from China, where the family was stationed for a time. The dining room and
living room sideboards are examples of her finds, as is the console table by
the living room fireplace, they all have spare, clean lines, which work well
with mid- century or contemporary European disigns, as seen in the coffee table
from The Conran Shop. Paula has also chosen an Oriental theme for her shower
room, which has a freestanding, coolie- hat- shaped basin and slim tile
detailing.
Be bold with colour
Colour is back for interiors, much to
Paula’s delight. Mixing vibrant shades in unexpected ways brings new life to a
room. In Paula’s house, the rich red of Oriental lacquer appears in the form of
tables and chests and her uninhibited use of mustard yellow on the living room
walls adds a further touch of the East. Whether a room faces north or south
also affects the way colour works on walls. Warm colours look good in cool,
north- facing rooms, while blues or greens would be appropriate if a room gets
sun all day.
Do not be afraid of pattern
If you are lucky enough to have large rooms
like Paula’s, you have the option of using dramatic patterned fabrics to offset
the plain walls. In the neutal kitchen, she has chosen a strong, retro- style
fabric in blue for the window seat and bench, while the master bedroom mixes
floral fabrics with panache. In the dining room, an Oriental rug in a bold
pattern fits perfectly under the table and picks up the warm red of the walls.
Make the bath a focal point
If you have space, it is fun to locate a
freestanding bath in the middle of the room- or even in the bedroom. ‘Our main
bathroom is such a beautiful room, with its high ceiling and view over the
garden, that I wanted to give it wow factor’, says Paula. So she decided to
place the bath in the centre of the room and use dramatic slate and mosaic
tiles to create an Italianate feeling.
Buy art at college exhibitions
Paula used to race to be first in the
quenue at graduate art shows at the Royal Scottish Academy, to pick up a
disirable picture at a reasonable price. Most art colleges have open days or
exhibitions in the summer where graduates show and sell work.
Use history as inspiration
‘Interestingly, many of the people who
built these Georgian homes were Scots who made their money overseas,
particularly with the East India Company,’ says Paula. ‘The very first owner of
this house was a major from Calcutta. Many properties of this period would have
had pieces of furniture from China of India.’ Paula has chosen to mis her own
chosen pieces with traditional Scottish and more contemporary intems- just as
the Georgians would have done.
