Cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them or accept our recommended settings. Using this tool will set a cookie on your device to remember your preferences.

Options
Necessary cookies enable core functionality on our website. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
We use marketing cookies to personalise your visit to our website and show you tailored advertising based on your likes and interests.
We use analytics cookies to monitor visitor behaviour patterns and improve our website performance.

Your preferences have been set. If you wish to change your preferences, you may do so on our cookies page.

Search My Trust
Join now
Join
Close

Looking for places? Use our place search to find them by name, town or postcode.

See all stories
24 Feb 2022

Softly does it

Written by Emma Inglis, Curator (Glasgow & West)
A view of an extremely ornately decorated drawing room, with the far wall made up of floor-to-ceiling windows. A red and blue patterned carpet almost fills the floor on top of parquet wooden floorboards. The ceiling has decorative, gilded plasterwork. There is a piano to the far left of the room, and a fireplace on the right-hand wall. Large mirrors run either side of the room.
The new drawing room carpet brings together the colours, motifs and architecture of the room.
With the start of a new season at Holmwood, we are celebrating the creation of specially designed carpets, inspired by Alexander Thomson and Holmwood’s fabulous interiors.

It has been an exciting start to the year at Holmwood as we have reached the conclusion of our three-year interior redecoration project. The icing on the cake has been the installation of a set of new and specially designed carpets.

The previous carpets installed by the National Trust for Scotland at Holmwood were plain and purely functional – the aim had been to create a blank backdrop. We felt it was time to change that; we wanted to install carpets that had a more luxurious feel and that complemented the fabulous re-worked interior decoration schemes.

No evidence survives of Holmwood’s original carpets from circa 1860, but historical records relating to Alexander Thomson, Holmwood’s architect, indicated that he had designed the original carpets himself. Armed with that knowledge, along with an understanding of the key motifs and colours used in the house, we embarked upon an extensive search through historical carpet archives at Stoddard Templeton, the Carpet Museum in Kidderminster, the National Archives, Brintons and the V&A. We knew the style we were looking for and we came up with a shortlist of designs, both from the right period and from Thomson’s contemporaries, that we thought might suit. With some minor adjustments to colours and motifs, Brintons’ carpet designers helped us to bring the archive designs to life.

A close-up view of a red and cream patterned carpet, which has many floral and classical motifs repeated. A close-up view of a red, white and blue patterned carpet, taken almost at ground level and looking towards a wooden dining chair standing against the wood-panelled wall. Above the chair runs an elaborate stencilled design all along the wall, in a burnt orange colour. Both the carpet and the wall decoration include repeated classical motifs.

The new carpets have now been installed at Holmwood, bringing a further sense of opulence to the house. The drawing room looks particularly magnificent, with a carpet based on a design by Owen Jones (one of Alexander Thomson’s design contemporaries) that reflects the delicate blue of the ceiling and draws on details in the plasterwork.

A view of an extremely ornately decorated drawing room, with the far wall made up of floor-to-ceiling windows. A red and blue patterned carpet almost fills the floor on top of parquet wooden floorboards. The ceiling has decorative, gilded plasterwork. There is a piano to the far left of the room, and a fireplace on the right-hand wall. Large mirrors run either side of the room.
The drawing room carpet brings together the colours, motifs and architecture of the room.

To experience our bold and beautiful response to Alexander Thomson’s interiors, come and visit Holmwood this year. We can’t wait to welcome you!

Explore Holmwood

Visit now

Featured Places

Place

Holmwood

Classical elegance and architectural tricks distinguish Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson’s finest domestic creation

Greater Glasgow & The Clyde Valley

Read next

A view of the inside of a painted dome, with blue and gold decoration at the very top. Statues separate small window panels all the way around.

Holmwood revealed

Watch some short videos from our team of experts uncovering and recreating Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson’s Victorian interior decoration.

A large rectangular piece of carpet is displayed against a black background. The carpet features concentric squares of blue, green, yellow and red, some with classical patterns inside. At the centre are two blue squares with a floral design.

Creating carpets for Holmwood

Find out how we’re creating new carpets for Holmwood in the final phase of the Holmwood Redecoration Project.

A close-up view of a very decorative ceiling and cornice. There are floral and classical plaster motifs, as well as stylised gilded flower motifs.

Transforming Holmwood with Alexander Thomson’s designs

As Holmwood’s redecoration project enters its final phase, we look at what’s happened in the past year.

Paper with small patches of paint colours painted in blues, browns and creams. There are scraps of wallpaper with a regular design of gold stars on a pale background.

Wallpaper, paint and carpets: bringing National Trust for Scotland interiors to life

Take a look behind the scenes to find out about interior design Trust style.

Read more stories on

Back to top