Shieldaig, 24 Hermitage Drive, Edinburgh

This is a substantial two-storey Arts and Crafts villa, constructed between 1906 and 1907, designed by Robert Lorimer, with a later extension added in 1919 by James B Dunn. The house incorporates elements reminiscent of Scottish 17th-century architecture. It is built of variegated sandstone, with the stone laid in a rake-jointed squared and snecked rubble pattern, and features dressed ashlar stonework. Rounded corners, stylised window surrounds, ashlar mullions, an ashlar eaves course, overhanging eaves, and tall corniced stacks with ashlar panelling are all prominent features.

The north (front) elevation has six bays and an asymmetrical design. A recessed entrance bay is located to the right of centre, with a doorway set within a moulded round-arched recess, featuring an ashlar surround with an ogee motif. A single window flanks the doorway to the right, and three smaller windows are positioned above at the first floor level. A projecting bay to the left of centre has a half-piend roof and a broad single window at ground floor; the first-floor window is set within a scroll-flanked ashlar panel, with single windows and a wallhead stack on the returns. A slightly advanced bay to the outer left has single windows to both ground and first floors, a small window on the return, a shaped gable with a swan-neck apex, and corbelled skewputts resting on a fragment of cornice. The bay to the penultimate right is also slightly advanced, featuring a single window to the right at ground floor and two tall windows at the first floor, with a shaped gable mirroring the design above. A blank bay completes the elevation on the outer right.

The south (rear) elevation is five bays wide, with a recessed service wing to the right. The main elevation is symmetrical, with broad, advanced outer bays and shallow bowed tripartite windows at ground floor, above which are single windows at first floor. The recessed centre bays feature a doorway at the centre and single windows in the remaining bays at both ground and first floors. A lean-to conservatory, set on a panelled timber base, fills the ground floor area. The recessed service wing, to the outer right, has a half-piend roof and single windows, connected to the main block by a link featuring single windows.

The west elevation displays a tall wallhead stack and two windows on both the ground and first floors. The east elevation has two tall wallhead stacks, two windows in the centre bay, a secondary door flanking to the left, and a later, single-storey, flat-roofed garage. Multi-pane timber sash and case windows are found throughout. The roof is covered in stone slates, with swept valley gutters to the piend roofs and lead flashings. There are three wallhead stacks and four central stacks. Decorative gutterheads are also present.

The interior features plain cornices and a compartmental ceiling with moulded beams in the ground floor drawing room. A tall rubble wall with semi-circular coping forms the boundary to the rear and sides, with a lower wall facing the front.