Guides & Advice
An A–Z guide to the building terms, architectural features and property types found across Edinburgh. Explore traditional features, structural terminology, joinery, renovations and the details that make Edinburgh's buildings distinctive.
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A basement flat is a home situated wholly or partly below the surrounding ground or street level, commonly found within Edinburgh’s Georgian...
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A box room is a small internal room traditionally used for storage or occasional sleeping accommodation and is a common feature of...
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A bungalow is a house in which the principal living accommodation is arranged on a single storey, sometimes with additional rooms formed...
A converted flat is an individual home created by subdividing a building that was originally constructed for another layout or use.
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A cupola is a glazed roof structure designed to bring natural daylight into an interior space, commonly seen above stairs and communal...
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An Edinburgh colony house is a distinctive form of 19th-century workers' housing arranged in terraces, typically with separate upper and lower homes...
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An Edinburgh New Town property is typically a Georgian or early 19th-century home forming part of the city's planned New Town, known...
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An Edinburgh press is a traditional recessed cupboard or storage space commonly found beside a fireplace in Edinburgh tenement and period properties.
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An Edinburgh stair is the communal staircase and entrance serving multiple flats within a traditional Edinburgh tenement building
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A Georgian flat is a home within a Georgian-period building, often retaining high ceilings, large sash and case windows and classical interior...
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A Georgian townhouse is a multi-storey urban house dating principally from the Georgian period, typically characterised by symmetrical proportions, stone construction and...
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A main-door flat is a flat with its own private entrance directly from the street or outside, rather than being accessed through...
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A mews house is a smaller property traditionally associated with the service lanes behind larger townhouses, often originating as stables, coach houses...
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A modern flat is an apartment within a relatively recent residential development, generally constructed using modern building methods and standards rather than...
A new-build flat is an apartment within a recently constructed residential development designed and built using contemporary construction methods.
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A new-build house is a recently constructed home built using contemporary construction methods and current building standards.
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A sash and case window is a traditional timber window in which glazed sashes slide vertically within a surrounding timber frame or...
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A semi-detached house is one of a pair of adjoining homes that share a common party wall but have their own separate...
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An Edinburgh tenement is a multi-storey residential building containing separate flats accessed from a shared stair, forming a major part of the...
A traditional cottage is a small, generally low-rise house of traditional construction, often built from stone and characterised by a relatively simple...
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A Victorian terraced house is a house dating from the Victorian period that forms part of a continuous row of adjoining properties.
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A Victorian villa is a detached or semi-detached house dating from the Victorian period, often characterised by substantial stone construction, generous rooms...
