Lynn O’Rourke: We are thinking about having the ceiling of our extension painted, which doesn’t sound like a big deal but, knowing us, it will be

It’s pine, in a double-height extension, so, even though it’s not a particularly big space, there is quite a lot of pine. On the ceiling, the stairs, the banister, under the stairs... it’s pretty pine-tastic. To give you some idea of just how piney it all is, my young niece loves it because it reminds her of Center Parcs.

On the one hand, there is the potential for a Scandi sauna feel – if that’s any sort of recommendation. On the other, we like to think it has a kind of cool, Sixties vibe to it. Admittedly the latter is usually after a glass of wine or three, by which stage even the Scandi sauna look is starting to make sense. In the cold, harsh light of day, those feelings fade.

Then my other half pitched in with an uncharacteristically strident, “Forget the ceilings, let’s paint it all white,” campaign, which has thrown me. Where did that come from? We’ve even had a painter in to give us a quote. I tried suggesting maybe we could just paint a bit to get an idea of how it might look and realised just as I was saying, “I’ve got a really good idea...” that it wasn’t. So do we alter it forever, or should we just stock up on the wine?

This week we take a look at the well-thought-out renovation of a one-time bank building in Edinburgh’s Leith area on page 4. We also hear about one couple’s personal eco-friendly Grand Design in Ayrshire on page 8, while fabric designer Fi Douglas introduces a riot of colour and pattern to a once-monochrome, minimalist Glasgow flat on page 14. And landscape gardener Jenny Harper explains what she loves about her long-coveted East Lothian garden on page 22. k