Interior renovation of Edinburgh support hub calls on local community
Ace Design Studio’s interior renovation breathes new life into the Edinburgh home of Multi-Cultural Family Base, whose community reach enabled the refurb

Ace Design Studio took on the interior renovation of this listed building in Edinburgh’s Leith, home to the local hub of a grassroots charity. Multi-Cultural Family Base is an early-intervention social support organisation that promotes wellbeing and opportunities for the vulnerable and disadvantaged. With a £15,000 budget for the project, UK-based Ace Design Studio needed to employ a resourceful approach to obtaining materials and manpower.
The design team took two rooms that had fallen into disarray and turned them into a space to be used for the charity’s group work and activities, and another for counselling. The group room’s high ceilings and large windows make for an open and light space, and different activity zones break the size of the room into smaller areas. Storage is tucked away under benches and in an overhead unit, while soft seating and play areas cater to the room’s varied uses.
Rachel Codd, consultant interior designer on the project, highlights the contributions from people in the community: ‘The volunteering effort to physically complete the works has created a sense of belonging, with so many suppliers pulling through to provide expertise and donations.’ Paint was provided by Graphenstone, and Ikea’s reuse hub was called on for interior pieces, contributing to an overall sustainable ethos for the project.
Ali Uddin, the project’s lead designer, talks of the importance of understanding the needs of the space before embarking on its refurbishment, and the collaborative approach used. ‘It was refreshing to conceptualise with the clients at such a deep social level – identifying specific vulnerabilities of their local community and how interior design could respond with a narrative of collective ownership and familiarity.’
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Martha Elliott is the Junior Digital News Editor at Wallpaper*. After graduating from university she worked in arts-based behavioural therapy, then embarked on a career in journalism, joining Wallpaper* at the start of 2022. She reports on art, design and architecture, as well as covering regular news stories across all channels.
-
Time-travel to the golden age of cruising at Sea Containers London
The South Bank hotel celebrates its tenth anniversary with four new suites inspired by period cabin design, from Edwardian elegance to 1980s glamour
-
A Karuizawa house is a soothing, work-from-home retreat in Japan
Takeshi Hirobe Architects play with scale and space, creating a tranquil residence in which to live and work
-
Vincent Van Duysen launches ‘most modern’ Zara Home collection
The fourth instalment of architect Vincent Van Duysen’s collaboration with Zara Home introduces a modernist sensibility, with new materials and refined, architectural forms
-
Birch Selsdon is a new country escape on London’s doorstep
Birch Selsdon hotel and members’ club is set to open in spring 2023, offering relaxation and natural surroundings just a short skip from London’s bustle
-
Nicole Hollis designs a gem of a Napa Valley guest house
Interior design studio Nicole Hollis has crafted this elegantly balanced Napa Valley guest house, working alongside Arcanum Architecture
-
Studio Ashby unveils tranquil interiors at One Crown Place
In muted punctuations of mossy green and vibrant timbers, Studio Ashby has filled the apartments at One Crown Place in London’s Shoreditch with the ‘Sophie Ashby Collection’, completing the introduction of the tower’s spaces
-
Deirdre Dyson’s new geometric rugs cover all the angles
Deirdre Dyson offers a vivid geometry lesson with her ten-strong, made-to-measure ‘Angles’ rug collection
-
Fun and sustainable 3D-printed desk accessories as Pearson Lloyd adds to ‘bFriends‘ series for Bene
From pen pots to stackable wildlife: new ‘bFriends’ bioplastic desk accessories from Pearson Lloyd for Bene
-
Coedition lands its first colourful showroom in Paris