Page 123 - Homes & Interiors Scotland

I LOVE THIS

DOMINIC BRADBURY
is a writer and journalist
specialising in design. His two
latest titles, out this autumn,
are Interior Design Close Up
and Waterside Modern, both
published by Thames & Hudson.
[Top] Mount Stuart, and [above] its impressive new visitor centre

Mount Stuart, Isle of Bute

MY FONDEST MEMORIES OF SCOTLAND ARE ALL Queen Anne house on the site was largely destroyed by fire.
tied to its islands. Most recently, the Isle of Skye converted The house is truly a fantasy, full of colour, pattern
my children to the beauty of the west coast and an extraor- eccentricity and delight, with interiors by H.W. Lonsdale
dinary landscape where the mountains really do meet the and others. But at the same time this was also a ‘modern’
sea. The views out across the isles and inlets are always home with a lift, electric lighting and one of the world’s first
mesmerising, and the beaches of Skye are unlike any that I heated indoor swimming pools.
have ever seen, with the exception perhaps of Bruny Island, The house was literally whitewashed during the First
off the coast of Tasmania. World War, when it was used as a military hospital, but
The Isle of Bute manages to combine striking natural it has been lovingly and sensitively restored by the Bute
beauty with two of my favourite buildings, both from very family, particularly Johnny Bute, the seventh Marquess.
different eras. Mount Stuart is a flamboyant four-storey He and his wife Serena also commissioned a striking
gothic fantasy dating back to the 1870s, commissioned by and contemporary visitor centre by the architects Munken-
the third Marquess of Bute, who also transformed Cardiff beck & Partners. The combination of old and new, set some
Castle into a personal dreamland. At Mount Stuart, Scottish respectful distance apart, adds another level of delight to
architect Robert Rowand Anderson was tasked with the job Mount Stuart and helps take the house and the island into
of creating a grand new country retreat after the original a new era.

HOMES & INTERIORS SCOTLAND