What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm

Big House Events

Call Directions Website Contact the establishment

Big House Events Ltd
Bespoke scenic design & construction for the Event & Theatre Industry Modern event technology can demand complex design solutions.

When you are at your most creative, you are nowhere near your comfort zone. At Big House we work closely with our clients to bridge the gap between creativity and comfort. At the heart of the Big House is a trusted network of full timers, freelancers and suppliers. Big House Events draws on a vast wealth of experience and offers a variety of services. We bring specialists together to find workable, efficient solutions to engineering problems and ensure safety at every stage of the build, delivering projects efficiently and to a high standard that exceed the expectations of our clients. Big House Events strive to be innovative and creative, underpinned by trust and flawless delivery. We design and create props, scenery and furniture for the creative, corporate and private markets including: Corporate Events, Parties, Installations, Theatre Shows, Exhibitions and schools. At Big House Events we value the traditional construction techniques and couple these with modern methods to create sets that are strong, lightweight and affordable. We pride ourselves on finding creative solutions to meet your design and budget needs.

16/10/2026

MYTH: If you can draw it, you can build it.

Well… not always.

A great idea on paper is just the beginning.

Once you start turning it into something real, there are a few more things to think about. What will it be made from? How will it stand up? How heavy will it be? Can it move? Can it travel? Will it fit through the door? And can it be installed safely when it gets there?

That doesn’t mean scaling back the ambition.

A big part of what we do is finding the practical solution that keeps the original idea intact – working through materials, structure, fabrication and all the details you might never see in the finished piece.

Because the best builds don’t just look good on paper.

They work in the real world too.

14/10/2026

Sometimes the best way to work out how to build something big is to start small.

Scale model making has long played a useful part in our theatre and scenic construction work at Big House. Before a design reaches the workshop floor, a model can help us explore how it will work in three dimensions, testing scale, proportion, layout, sightlines and the relationship between different elements of a set.

And as these pictures from the Big House archives show, models come in all shapes and stages of refinement.

Some are detailed representations of a proposed theatre set. Others are much more rough and ready, built simply to test an idea, solve a problem or understand how something might work at full scale.

For unusual or technically challenging scenic builds, that process can be invaluable. It helps designers and makers turn an idea on paper into something that can actually be fabricated, assembled and used in the real world.

Not every Big House build starts small. But quite a few of them do.

https://www.bighouse-events.co.uk/about

08/10/2026

Ever wondered why you’d deliberately set fire to a perfectly good piece of timber? 🔥

This is Stuart using a burn and brush technique to bring out the natural character of the wood.

The surface is carefully charred before being brushed back, removing softer fibres and emphasising the grain beneath.

The result is a more textured, pronounced finish that can then be oiled or treated depending on the final look.

Just one of the many techniques being put to use around the workshop.

07/10/2026

Smoke and mirrors. 💨 🪞

Well… smoke, mirrors, steel, timber, brackets, fixings, supports, careful calculations and the occasional bit of head scratching.

The audience sees the finished piece. Behind it can be a very different story.

A big part of what we do is working out how something ambitious can actually stand up, move, travel, be installed, withstand an audience and, crucially, look as though none of that engineering is there at all.

If we've done our job properly, you shouldn't be thinking about what's holding it up.

You should just be looking at the magic. ✨

https://www.bighouse-events.co.uk/projects-1

02/10/2026

Throwback to The Enchanted Forest 🌲

Back in 2015, the Big House team headed into the woods for The Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry.

From illuminated maps to huge, hand-strung installations woven between the trees, this was the kind of job that combined making, problem-solving and a fair amount of working around whatever the forest threw at us.

These behind-the-scenes pictures show some of the work that went into creating pieces designed to become part of the landscape - including the fabrication and finishing of textured tree forms and the installation of those rather spectacular fluorescent nets.

More than a decade later, we still love seeing how it all came together.
Big ideas. Built here. And, occasionally, built in the middle of a forest. 🌲

Big thanks to designer Gordon Davidson.

See here for more info - https://www.bighouse-events.co.uk/projects/bus-station-installation

30/09/2026

MYTH BUSTERS: Bigger is always harder.

Not necessarily. Sometimes it's the smaller, fiddlier jobs that really test the team.

Complex details, intricate finishes and bespoke elements can require more time, precision and problem-solving than a much larger build.

Because when you're working at this scale, there's nowhere for the details to hide.

Check out our recent projects - https://www.bighouse-events.co.uk/projects-1

23/09/2026

What’s going on here? 👀

The first picture might not give too much away…

One of the perhaps less obvious things we use the laser cutter for is cutting fabric.

Here, individual leaf shapes are being laser cut before heading into the workroom, where they're assembled by hand to create much larger pieces of foliage.

It's a good example of the mix of equipment, materials and making techniques that goes into our builds. Sometimes the laser does the intricate repetitive work.

Sometimes it's scissors, pins and a lot of hands-on making. Quite often, it's both.

Swipe through and all should become clear. 🌿

18/09/2026

One for our theatre-making pals…

Our good friends at The Envelope Room are bringing together theatre-makers, designers, performers, producers, technicians and artists for Making Space at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow this October.

It’s a free one-day festival exploring access, creativity and the future of theatre, with workshops, conversations and shared learning looking at how thinking differently about access can enrich the work we make – and who gets to be part of making it.

📅 Wednesday 21 October
📍 Citizens Theatre, Glasgow

Registration opens next week, with places free but limited.

A brilliant opportunity to get people from across the sector together, share ideas and learn from each other. Keep an eye on The Envelope Room for booking details.

Address

39-41 Assembly Street
Edinburgh
EH67BQ

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+441316696366

Website

http://www.bighouse-events.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Big House Events posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Big House Events:

Want your establishment to be the top-listed arts & entertainment in Edinburgh?