Newmilns Tower
Ayrshire, Scotland
Completed Spring 1997

A C15th towerhouse, a scheduled monument, rescued by a Building Preservation Trust, restored and ready for residential breaks.

Retrouvius was asked to furnish the building. We set ourselves the brief to re-interpret the somewhat nomadic nature of towerhouse living whilst introducing a contemporary element. This was to be explored through textiles in collaboration with Glasgow based Timorous Beasties.

Appropriate fabrics were sourced; hessian, wool, coarse linen and leather immediately introducing the right smells and scratchiness to the building! These were then printed with large scale dramatic repeats giving colour and much needed warmth.

Our budget was tiny but financial constraints led us on many eventful journeys to source the antique furniture we required. Chairs were purchased from a Dumfrieshire farmer who come summer fills his cattle sheds with local auction finds.