Edinburgh pink door woman sad after being forced to repaint

An Edinburgh woman says she is "sad and disappointed" after being forced to repaint her pink front door.

Miranda Dickson was ordered to change the colour last year after an anonymous complaint to City of Edinburgh Council.

The local authority ruled that the pink door was not "in keeping with the historic character" of the listed building in the city's New Town area.

Now Ms Dickson, 49, has painted the door green after failing to overturn the enforcement notice.

She had started an 18-month revamp of the three-storey Georgian house during the Covid lockdown after inheriting the property from her parents.

• Historic house owner ordered to repaint pink door

• Pink door woman says colour was in guidelines

She transformed the house after moving back from the US, where she was a global brand director for a drinks company.

The last task was painting the front door in December 2021 - but nine months later she received an enforcement notice, which said she could be fined up to £20,000 if she did not change the colour.

She told BBC Scotland she was still shell-shocked by the stir which had been caused by her pink door, which is in a World Heritage conservation site.

Miranda says she loves her pink bathroom

The story was picked up by news organisations across the world after it was covered by the BBC in October.

Ms Dickson said: "I don't understand why it has caused them to be so angry, I can't understand that emotion about the colour of a door.

"These homes were built as entertainment spaces. They are incredible spaces and I have leaned into the bones of the rooms to maximise their beauty.

"I have restored all the windows and kept the cornices and mouldings as well as the shutters. I have been much more sympathetic than more modern refits.

"And I saw a pink door on EastEnders last night, so it really isn't that weird."

After losing her appeal against the enforcement notice, she was given until 20 April to change the colour of the door.

Miranda Dickson, outside the "bright pink" which was subject to a complaint letter

Miranda Dickson refers to this wall display in her home as the 'Wonderwall'

She had to apply for planning permission to change the colour to green, and said the repainting had cost her almost £500.

"When I started my vision about the house, I had my mood boards and for me the pink door was the wrapping to that creative vision," she added.

"The pink door was the external vision to what my internal house is.

"So to be forced to change it has left me feeling saddened and disappointed.

"I'm upset by all the energy and opinion it has caused and I now feel I am closing a chapter and putting it to bed, although I don't feel peaceful about it."

The mother-of-two grew up in the house, which belonged to her parents. They ran an independent chain of travel agents.

Miranda Dickson has thousands of interesting and unusual props in her house

Ms Dickson said she had never been allowed to wear pink as a child - but she started expressing herself with the colour when she started studying theology and Egyptology at Manchester University.

"I had strawberry blonde hair so my mum never had me in anything pink for fear of it clashing with the colour of my hair.

"So when I went to university I had everything pink, even pink dreadlocks."

She still dresses up every day, usually with pink nails, pink hair and bright clothes.

Ms Dickson says she feels the same about her house.

"The idea for me was to create a dream world which was slightly surreal, with each room having a different vibe.

"It has taken a lot of work but I feel I have achieved that now. I love it and it feels like my space."

Miranda even has a pink hall carpet