My Modern House: Gemma and Kestin Hare on life in Edinburgh and the city’s renewed creative scene at their refurbished Victorian family home
Now, with their renovation work to their Victorian family home complete, Gemma and Kestin reflect on the work they’ve done, the perks of life in Edinburgh and how the city’s emerging design and creative scene is taking shape.
Gemma: “We were in a flat in Marylebone and I was pregnant with our first baby. We quickly realised our lives in London were going to change quite radically and because we didn’t have family in London, or friends who had children, we decided that moving closer to family and friends here in Edinburgh was going to be a huge benefit in the next chapter of our lives.
“It was a bit of a leap of faith. We always knew that we wanted to come back to Scotland, but it seemed slightly earlier than we perhaps felt ready for. It was the shock that comes with expecting a child, I suppose.
“That was 2010, but we didn’t leave London until Skye, our eldest daughter, was born. We packed up all our stuff and did a mad dash to the border! Kestin’s from Edinburgh, I spent my last two years of school here, so it does feel like home, and quite quickly it just felt normal.”
Kestin: “Gemma was working for WGSN, a fashion forecasting company, at the time, and I was trying to get my label off the ground, doing a lot of freelance work for Margaret Howell and Burberry to finance it.
“We moved back up here and I think when you have a baby you do these sort of mad things, like we moved city, started the label and Gemma quit her job to come on as Brand Director. There wasn’t really a sense of ‘this could fail’, it was more ‘we have to make this happen and make it work’.”
Gemma: “I think that there’s a huge range of people in Scotland who want to follow their dream, want to do it themselves, and there is almost a freedom up here where you can try something without having the huge pressure. In London, I don’t know if we would have been as successful as we have been.”
Kestin: “The financial benefit of not being in London is a massive thing. It’s cheaper to buy a house, and to have a garden, and we felt we needed the support of family and friends, not only for our personal lives but for the business as well.”
Gemma: “There’s lots of support from the Scottish government too – they know it’s more challenging being based up here, particularly in our sector. We’re not in the heart of where everything happens.
“So it’s swings and roundabouts: some things have been much easier, some things have been more challenging. But it was worth it. We both feel it’s a differentiator, and there’s almost a sense of pride and peace that we’ve come home now.”
Kestin: “Us being proudly based in Scotland and the designs drawing from my heritage has become a bit of a USP for our brand and what we’re doing now. The challenge has become our strength, I think.”
Gemma: “When we first moved back it was to a typical New Town apartment on the edge of Stockbridge. Think Royal Circus, sweeping crescent, double-height ceilings, ornate cornicing, huge windows: the Edinburgh New Town dream. I think we wanted the romantic version of life in Edinburgh.
Kestin: “It’s like living in a loft if you moved to New York – you just have to get it out your system.”
Gemma: “When we were that age with one baby it was perfect and we were in the heart of everything.
“Quite quickly, though, when I was pregnant with our second child, the reality of still living in a flat in the centre of town – the noise, the lack of heating, those sort of things – meant we had to be a bit more practical. Although, we didn’t want to move to suburbia – we were fighting against that!
“It also became quite frustrating in the summer when it hit six o’clock and we’d put Skye to bed, watching everyone else drinking in the sunshine. We were sat inside thinking ‘I want to be in the sun’. Especially in Scotland, when there’s good weather you want to make the most of it. So we were determined to have some outdoor space.
“We were the first people through the door here. I saw it online and you know when you get that feeling? As soon as we walked in, we saw there was a lot of work to do but I just said, ‘Get me that house, we’re not mucking around!” And we did.
“Edinburgh’s very competitive in terms of the market, particularly at that time and in this area, although I think it’s even more so now. You had to really fight for sales and we’d missed out on quite a few, which got really frustrating. It’s so disheartening because you have to fall in love with somewhere to put an offer in only to lose out.”
Kestin: “I remember when we came in here originally, it was a beautiful sunny day and we came out into the back space here, which was very strangely laid out with a horrible old-style conservatory and a galley kitchen with really low ceilings, but the light was fantastic. It’s a real sun trap here in the summer. It can be 15 degrees outside, but it can feel nearer to 20 when you sit out here.”
Gemma: “We got the keys three weeks before our due date but there was quite a lot of work we wanted to have done before we moved in. The first stage of the work we did was to remove the window and the wall at the back so at least we felt we were working towards having a more free-flow layout, and then there was a lot of carpets and horrible bathrooms to get rid of. We moved in the day I came out of the hospital with Indigo, our little one, and it was complete bedlam – there was a bathtub in the front garden Kestin and my brother had thrown out of the first-floor window. They were in complete demolition mode and I was just thinking, ‘Where is the building part?!’
“We were here for three years from 2015 before we got it looking like it does now. We worked with architects LBA, which is headed by Lindsey Bell, an amazing architect and a friend of ours.”
Kestin: “The most important consideration was natural light. The sliding doors gave us that, but they also open all the way up to make us feel like we’re outside when we sit at the dining table. It was the most expensive part of the build, but also the part that we’re most happy with.
“Our studio is based at Customs Lane in Leith, a creative hub of studios, workshops and gallery space. There’s a project called the Edinburgh Tool Library there, and through that, we were lucky enough to have the shelves, dining table and workbench all made bespoke to fit perfectly.”
Gemma: “It’s quite a tight space to work with, so when every millimetre counts is becomes an exercise in asking yourself, ‘What do we really need in order to maximise free-flow?’ We’ve now had both families over for Christmas dinner, and it’s a lovely place to entertain in – people come here, sit down and don’t want to leave.
“It’s an old house, and we were always aware that when adding a contemporary extension, you need a mixture of old and new, and keeping that blend is really important to us; we love modern design but we also want things here to tell a story.
“And that’s the same with our brand. Kestin’s quite an emotional designer, I would say, and he designs a lot from gut instinct. There are a lot of people out there designing on data, or bestsellers. We take that into consideration, but essentially Kestin designs clothes that make you feel something. And that’s what we wanted with this house. We don’t want anything to be too precious, but there are things here that tell a story, and that’s the same for the clothes: subtle but distinctive.”
Kestin: “But Gemma took the lead on designing this space, and I think she should have been an interior designer, really, as she has this drive behind her to do it. I definitely took the back seat but it’s interesting to reflect on the similarities between designing clothes and spaces. I’m always inspired by the past and look a lot at vintage clothing, and then try to make it new and contemporary but without losing the essence of where it came from, to make it modern. So, yes, I think there are definitely similarities – the textures, fabric, colour.
“I find being creative here and building things for the house, like the fence outside, quite relaxing. Particularly at the weekend, pottering around in the shed is calming. Because I’m quite hands-on with clothes as well, but here I don’t have the pressures of an international fashion brand.”
Gemma: “We love this area, Trinity. Some parts of Edinburgh are quite conservative, and there is a lot of history and heritage, whereas this area is quite renowned for being a bit bohemian and having a really mixed bag of people, and that’s why we really like it.”
Kestin: “We’re close enough to town that we can get there easily but we’re also very close to the studio in Leith, and all the creative, interesting things going on in Leith, which sort of reminds me of Hackney when it was changing: great restaurants, great things starting to happen in the design and art world, and food markets.
“One of the best things about the city is the cycle path on an old railway line that links the whole of Edinburgh, which not a lot of people know about, strangely. We can go from here to Stockbridge, drop our children off at school, and then go down to the studio without being on a main road.”
Gemma: “The major thing with Edinburgh is the ease and the quality of life you get up here. We’re both in London a lot, and then at the various fashion weeks, factory visits in Portugal, but the transport links here make that all manageable.
“And of course we have the Fringe here, but Edinburgh is a great cultural city year-round, with world-class exhibitions and art shows. Alongside that is the city’s emerging art and design scene, which, because of where our studio is based in Customs Lane, we feel we’ve got a bit of a front row seat to.”
Kestin: “Scotland in general is finding its feet a little bit more when it comes to design. From architecture to clothes, I think there’s an affinity with Nordic aesthetics but filtered through Scottish materials or craft, which is something we were definitely keen to embrace when we set up the brand.”
Gemma: “At the weekend, you have easy access to the surrounding beaches and countryside, which for us is really important having kids.”
Kestin: “The countryside is a big factor. I was brought up just outside Edinburgh in East Lothian, and there are some amazing beaches there such as Seacliff and Tyninghame; they’re absolutely incredible spots and we spend a lot of our weekends driving just 40 minutes to be on one of the best beaches in the UK. You feel so isolated and free from the stresses and strains of the week.”
Gemma: “It’s quite a special blend, and we’ve been so happy with the move. We sometimes think we could stay here forever.”
Gemma and Kestin, how do you define modern living?Kestin: “For us it’s about balancing function and aesthetics. Fabric, colour and organisation can be emotive and very positive if used correctly.”
Is there a home for sale on our website that has caught your eye? Why?Gemma: “Dry Leys, Frilford, Oxfordshire. I’m a sucker for curves and these arched Crittal windows overlooking the terrace are incredible. The whole place looks filled with heart and soul.”
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