A few years ago, Ina Porras faced a dilemma: with a growing brood, her beloved Georgian bungalow outside Edinburgh was feeling squeezed. But the family didn’t want to leave. Porras and her husband, James Mayers, had moved to the seaside suburb of Portobello from London in 2002, with their four-month-old son Finlay. “We love the sea, beaches, and its proximity to Edinburgh,” she says. “It’s such a vibrant community.”
So the couple – plus Finlay, now 14, Carmen, 12, and Pedro, nine – decided to convert the crumbling stone garage at the bottom of their garden instead. The walls, which in the early 1800s housed horses for the then owner’s carriage, were rubble and the roof was collapsing.
“James wanted a proper garage for the bikes, the lawnmower and tools,” says Porras, who is from Costa Rica and works in international development, as does her husband. “I wanted a bright place where I could take up my new sewing hobby with Carmen. And the children wanted a place to hang out with their friends, and play music.”
Local architects Chambers McMillan came up with a design that incorporated all three: a garage/workshop at the back; a glass-fronted studio extension at the front; and a mezzanine den above the studio with an asymmetrical roof. With timber beams and exposed OSB board (an alternative to plywood), the end result has a rough, unfinished feel. A window in the den is half-concealed behind strips of larch cladding, so when the kids are hanging out upstairs, they can see out but other people can’t see in.
“There is something of the outdoors about it,” architect Thea McMillan says of the space. “It’s more like a shed or a shack. We kept as much of the original stone as we could, while the corrugated metal roof references traditional Scottish bothies as well as roofs in Costa Rica.”
For Porras, “the studio is an extension of our home, yet separate enough to be a different space to retreat to”. The family has named it Osa, “after Peninsula de Osa, near my home town”, she says. “I like meeting friends here. It’s an intimate space where we can work, sew, talk and share a bottle of wine. Finlay’s in a band, and if it gets more serious, this will make a fantastic studio.” But, most of all, Porras says, “I love the sound of the rain on the tin roof. It takes me home.”
House rules
Pet interiors hate Lacy curtains and squint pictures.
Worst decorating mistake Light-coloured carpets (given that we have kids and a dog).
Most treasured possession Grandma’s jam stirring spoon (worn to half its size).
Best thing about your neighbourhood The community – there are all sorts of nicely odd people.
What would we never see in your house? A fish tank.
What was the first home you lived in? Ina: wooden house in seaside Costa Rica. James: bungalow in Priestfield Road in Edinburgh.
One thing you’d change about your home Declutter, and play more music.
