Dunphail House was built between 1828 and 1829 according to a design by William Henry Playfair, the architect responsible for many of the neoclassical buildings in Edinburgh's New Town.

[6] The interior plasterwork was extensively remodelled between 1928 and 1932 under the direction of John Wittet CBE,[7] president of the Inverness Architectural Association and Lord Provost of Elgin.

[8] Renovation work by Ronald Phillips and Partners, sensitive to the original design, removed substantial parts of Ross's addition in 1964.

[1] The original design featured a porte-cochère frontage, which Ross removed and reattached to his own additions in 1871; the 1960s renovation work replaced Ross's frontage with the current porch, which reuses Playfair's original parapet, and features a pair of Roman Doric columns and a Neo-Georgian fanlight.

[7] Aside from Wittet's plasterwork, the interior mostly dates from the 1960s renovations,[1] with little of Playfair's original work remaining other than the shape and layout of the rooms.