16 Carlton Street, Edinburgh

4 Carlton Street in Edinburgh is an impressive terrace of two-storey and basement townhouses designed by James Milne in 1824. The buildings are styled in plain classical architecture and feature a continuous balustraded parapet along with cast-iron balconies on the first floor. The exterior is constructed of sandstone ashlar, with a rusticated ground floor. The entrance platts extend over the basement area recess that faces the street. Notable architectural details include a banded base course, a banded cill course at the first floor, and a corniced eaves course topped with a balustraded parapet. The doorways are inset, with timber doors that have rectangular fanlights, some displaying a geometric glazing pattern. The windows on the first floor are moulded, architraved, and corniced.

On the southwest (rear) elevation, the building features coursed squared rubble with droved ashlar rybats, lintels, and cills, presenting a regular pattern of fenestration. The windows predominantly consist of timber sash and case designs, with a 12-pane glazing pattern and 6-over-9 panes on the first floor. The roof is double-pitched and covered with grey slates, featuring corniced ashlar ridge stacks and some octagonal clay cans. The property also includes cast-iron rainwater goods and railings that edge the basement area recess, along with cast-iron lamp standards topped with large bowl shades.

Inside, the classical decorative scheme includes decorative cornicing and spacious drawing rooms. Some large entrance vestibules showcase cornicing, with stone stairs that have well-detailed cast iron balustrades and timber handrails, topped by large oval cupolas adorned with decorative plasterwork. The large drawing rooms on the ground and first floors boast elaborate cornicing, some ceiling roses, and large marble fireplaces. While the cornicing continues throughout the building, it becomes less elaborate on the upper floors. Some working window shutters are present, although the majority of the interiors have been subdivided to create later flats.