A Castle in Scotland

There has been a castle on this site since the 13th century. This house, masterplanned and designed by our senior design director, Rupert Cunningham, represents the latest phase in a storied building programme that saw the house largely rebuilt in the 17th century, enlarged again in the 18th century, enlarged again and considerably remodelled in the 19th century, and then suffering ruin in the 20th century.

In the 1970s, the Victorian work was demolished and the tower house beautifully and imaginatively restored to its 17th century form – once again becoming home to the family that have owned it for the last 650 years.

As well as significant exterior alterations and extension, Rupert designed the interior architecture of all the new rooms in the castle, including the spectacular double height staircase, kitchen, bedrooms and service wing shown here. The interior decoration was carried out by the owner, working closely with Kate Arbuthnott.

Details

Location
Highland Scotland

Date
2018-2021

A Classical House

These are the interiors of a remarkable architectural project that may be viewed here. We were working with a listed building, in which few original interiors remained, to which we added two large new wings.

The entire interior was reconstructed in a careful and measured approach to create a fine new sequence of spaces. A panelled, double-height hall leads to a completely new early-Georgian styled staircase and Regency oak library. Extensive new kitchen and pantry joinery was designed and detailed by the firm.

We are now commencing with the furnishings and interior decoration of the project, a long and careful task that will take some time to bring to complete fruition. In the meantime, the house has an architectural purity that relies purely on light and shadow, and authentic architectural detailing, to achieve a serene and calm effect.

The Old Parsonage

This is Ben and Charlie’s own house in Dorset, which has been widely published in The New York Times, The Telegraph, House & Garden Magazine, and in Ben’s renowned book, English Decoration.

The house is a simple, early 19th century former Parsonage, and when Ben took a long lease for the house in 2008 he put in place a simple but thorough restoration of the whole building and garden. The Parsonage sits in a superb location, next to the church, facing south across a wooded valley.

Over the years the interiors have evolved to form a restrained, soft, comfortable backdrop to a collection of ordinary and inexpensive English antique furniture, pictures and prints. Decorative ideas have come and gone, but the whole place – unhurried, gentle, and very English – has a powerful and enduring spirit.