Laura

Laura and her husband were bowled over by the quality of the show home they visited at Lethington Gardens.

We were living in a one-bedroom flat in the centre of Edinburgh previously and decided we wanted more space and a lifestyle change – we loved the idea of being closer to the countryside so that we could go on walks and runs. The natural choice for us felt like East Lothian, which was within easy commuting distance to Edinburgh, where we both work.

We were initially looking for an older home, but when we visited the Mactaggart & Mickel show home at Lethington Gardens in Haddington, we were just blown away. It was a game changer for us and completely changed our view on new build homes.

A few friends of ours already lived in the first phase of the development, so we knew from them that it was a lovely place to live. The finishes in the show home were of exceptional quality, and we were impressed by how spacious it was. The kitchen and dining space looked perfect for entertaining, which we both love to do.

We chose The Bryce, a three-bedroom semi-detached villa. Our friends and family love the house – they were also surprised that we hadn’t chosen an older property but now they’ve seen the house, they think it’s stunning. Even though it’s a modern house, we’ve decorated it in our style and people have told us they can really see our personalities in it.

Adding Karndean flooring throughout the ground floor helped us to put our mark on the place, as did adding shaker-style units to the kitchen, which adds a rustic feel to the room, and we chose copper handles for a little twist.

The house also has fantastic storage space, which was a priority for us. There’s lots of cupboard space throughout and a fitted wardrobe in the primary bedroom. We appreciated having the option to add fitted wardrobes to the other bedrooms too.

My favourite room is the lounge. It’s a very welcoming room, and we found we had enough space for a big library bookshelf across one wall, which helps us bring that ‘country cottage’ feel to the living room. We’ve used it to create a relaxing little reading nook and it makes for the perfect, snug place to have a drink and relax.

Mactaggart & Mickel were great at keeping us updated throughout the process, and moving into our house was easy with the sales consultant on hand to answer any questions we had.