Designer outlet: Eileen Kesson of Envision Interior Design brings out the best in showhomes

Eileen Kesson is the doyenne of showhome design in Scotland. Her company, Envision, works with developers across the country, decorating, furnishing and adding finishing touches to the smallest flats to large luxury homes.

She explains: “Showhome design is our speciality. I like the pace of it, the challenge of a tightly controlled budget and the chance to see a home finished in a short time. It is never long to wait for the ta-dah!”

And there is also a bit more freedom, Eileen observes: “There are time, budget and commercial viability constraints, but with a private client it can get very emotional because their home is a very personal thing. Designing showhomes is more objective.”

The Waverly. Chris Humphreys Photography Ltd

Interestingly, she says that you do still keep the client in mind, but this isn’t the developer, it is the eventual likely buyer, whoever they may be.

Eileen expands: “They start out in our imagination. When we present the idea to the firm that has commissioned us, we start with a profile of an imaginary family to inspire the design.

“Whose room is this? Is it a busy working family or a sporty family? How old are they? How do they live, relax, entertain? It is site-specific, but it is useful to visualise someone living in the space.”

Working with new-build spaces, she says, can also mean too much of a blank canvas and most need an injection of life and character.

The Avenue at Ravelrig Heights, Balerno, CALA Homes (East)

When Eileen started in the business, after a degree in interior design, showhomes were a place to see current trends. She maintains, despite the popularity of online platforms such as Pinterest, that this is still the case. “People like to come to get new ideas for colours, papers and fabrics. Seeing them in the flesh encourages them to try things in their homes.”

Envision has a core team, a studio to make soft furnishings and trades, such as decorators and flooring fitters ready to be thrown into action.

Eileen explains: “Once you are on site in that fast-moving and fluid environment, if something doesn’t work, or if it is damaged or not the right colour, you have to troubleshoot at the last minute.”

Her latest project is a Cala Homes (East) showhome, the five-bedroom Waverley at the Avenue, Ravelrig Heights, Balerno. With more than 3,700 sq ft of living space, it is the company’s is largest in the region and priced from £810,000.

The Waverly by Chris Humphreys Photography Ltd

Eileen says: “The size itself was a challenge – in a lot of showhomes you are trying to make rooms look bigger, but here we had to use them all in different ways, so you understand the luxury of space.

“As for the brief, we felt that this house type would be sold to someone who would have collected furniture through their lives and have favourite pieces that they wanted to incorporate.”

Eileen’s team used key pieces styled with huge wall coverings and artworks, making the most of the high ceilings. She concludes: “The style is comfortable, elegant and timeless – it is a bit of a Gone with the Wind house.”