7 Queen Street, Edinburgh

7 Queen Street in Edinburgh is a building dating from around 1775, which has been extended and altered for commercial use in the late 19th century, converted to office space around 1965, and underwent further changes in 1985. It is the western half of a pair of three-storey houses with a basement and attic, featuring a classical design with three bays. The exterior is made of droved cream sandstone ashlar and includes a mutuled cornice. The ground floor has been built out with minimalist polished ashlar framing a plate glass lobby, while the earlier modillioned cornice remains visible.

On the first floor, there is a full-width window that is canted at the center, adorned with a modillioned cornice and a blocking course. A segmental-headed tripartite timber dormer is positioned to the right. At the rear, there is a segmental-headed piend-roofed timber tripartite dormer on the left side of the original roof, along with a large cast-iron rooflight on the right. A modern two-storey, three-bay piend-roofed dry-dash block has replaced the former showrooms, with access to the first floor via steps that oversail the area, as the garden has been built over. The new section features round-headed openings, with the central opening larger and framed by glazing and a sunburst fanlight.

The windows throughout the building are timber sash, consisting of both four-pane and plate glass. The roof is covered with grey slates, and there are ashlar stacks.

Inside, the original hall and stair remain intact to the east, featuring simple alternate cast-iron banisters, with an additional flight added to the attic. The drawing room on the first floor boasts an original enriched ceiling with a geometric circular pattern, trailing vines, and birds, along with a guilloche and acanthus cornice. The ground floor is largely open plan, with an arcaded central section that has a rich consoled cornice and an exotic principal stair from the 19th century leading to the first floor. This stair features a groin-vaulted ceiling supported by a cluster of columns with rich Composite capitals, which continue as an arcade across the width of the first floor. The second floor is also open plan.