A made to measure mews in Newington, Edinburgh

Located on a previously derelict site, 10 East Preston Street Lane is a new build, completed in 2014, and set in a quiet cobbled lane in Newington, near Edinburgh University.

It is hard to believe that the mews house is a first-time self build, but then owners Andrew and June Laing are hardly inexperienced when it comes to property development.

This is the their seventh project in three years, although it is the first place they have built from scratch.

All the others have been renovations of sometimes very challenging and difficult sites.

Andrew says: “Our last project was the fit-out of a penthouse at Western Harbour [in Leith] so in lots of ways this was the complete opposite.

“The plot, which we bought in November 2013, contained an old lock- up garage which was half demolished. “It already had planning permission for a house, but we had our own ideas.”

After redesigning the layout into what they felt was a much more practical design and getting planning approval, work started in April 2014 and took just seven months to complete.

Andrew has a team of tradesmen from previous jobs and this was a specialist project – the house is a parallelogram shape, so all joinery had to be bespoke and built on site.

The exterior is in hand-crafted Craigleith stone and cedar; the stone was cut and faced by stonemasons working on site too.

Andrew says: “We had some quite phenomenal trades, real craftsmen working on the build.”

By Christmas 2014, the couple moved into what is a great example of a spacious city home.

As well as its high-spec contemporary interior, designed by interior specialist June, there is an equally swish garden space, completely covered in decking for an ultimate low-maintenance outside room, accessed by fold-back doors from the dining kitchen and French doors from a downstairs bedroom.

There are three double bedrooms in all, with two bathrooms.

As well as the living kitchen downstairs, there is a first floor sitting room with cathedral ceiling and built-in fireplace.

There is also an integral garage; a real advantage this close to the city centre.

Andrew and June have already started on their next project; a larger property in Lanark Road West.

In the meantime, they spent last winter renovating a house just outside Durban in South Africa.

It may have always been their plan to build at East Preston Street Lane before moving on to the next project, but they’ve enjoyed the house, particularly its proximity to central Edinburgh.

Andrew says: “It is just nine minutes walk to Waverley, so a really convenient city home.”

Offers over £465,000, contact Stuart

& Stuart on 0131 222 9975.