I’ve been working on a lovely project for the past year and a half – completely gutting and renovating a large house (51 rooms of which I am now intimate with every square inch! – including 2 kitchens, 10 bathrooms and 4 sitting rooms)…There was a bit of re-structuring involved, as it had at one stage been converted into a hotel…and a lot of repair to the fabric of the building. Full marks to local builders, RE Campbell, and their various sub-contractors, who have finished everything to a very high standard. We’ve come to the end of the first phase: floors and walls finished, fireplaces and radiators replaced, furniture either new or reupholstered, curtains and blinds fitted…so here are a few snapshots of the tantalisingly bare canvas. Now for the fun part…lights, rugs, pictures, mirrors,cushions….
Images shown with the kind permission of my clients
Ground Floor Sitting Room
Two new button back chairs from Artistic, with simple Roman Blinds
Snug
I found a pair of these chairs in a junk shop in Glasgow whilst on the hunt for fireplaces – bought for a song, they look a million dollars upholstered in a plain linen
Guest Bedrooms
The remit was to keep everything very simple, but I managed to sneak in a few trimmings…this little fan edge balances the embroidered panels (from GP and J Baker) in these linen curtains…
…and this pretty border was hand embroidered in India – we had to be patient for this, as it got held up for a month in floods on the way to the airport.
Dining Room Ceiling
This ceiling grew out of a need to put in two RSJ’s to support the bathroom above - so it seemed like a good idea to make a feature out of them by putting in another two “beams”. The plasterwork was carried out by Halcyon Cornice in Glasgow – who also replaced many of the cornices throughout the house.
A Bathroom
There’s no danger of being overlooked in any of the bathrooms, but these embroidered voiles (fabric from James Hare) just soften the room and give a lovely diffused light. The floor tiles are ceramic.
Hall Door
This was a dark space, so we brought light in from a window in the back corridor through this gorgeous glazed door – also found whilst foraging in Glasgow’s salvage yards.
Roman Blind
This blind was made combining an inexpensive linen with an embroidered fabric from Voyage
Fireplace Finds
I came across this iron fireback for the entrance hall fire in a Norwegian antiques shop – note the date! – of historical significance for many Estate owners in the West Highlands…This was set into the original tiles.
…and this oak surround was one of ten I found rummaging in salvage yards in Glasgow. The tiles were found separately, so it was a joy to find they actually fitted. The ones on the right are of Invergarry Castle, and on the left, of Loch Fyne.
A Bookcase
This was a piece of bespoke joinery carried out by Campbells, a bookcase in one of the studies….yet to be filled!