Timorous Beasties brings elegant grandeur to Mar Hall, an impressive 19th-century manor house hotel steeped in Scottish history

Situated just miles apart along the River Clyde, Timorous Beasties and Mar Hall share more than geography; they share a spirit. One is a Glasgow-based specialist design studio renowned for bold, boundary-pushing fabric and wallpaper collections. The other is a grand 19th-century manor house hotel, steeped in Scottish history.

Jim Hamilton, creative director at Glasgow-based design studio Graven, and Lisa King, design director at Align Partners, led this special project and worked closely with Timorous Beasties to incorporate their signature wallpapers and patterns throughout the interiors. A wide range of the brand’s wallpaper and fabric designs have been placed with intention, inviting an enlivened curiosity across Mar Hall.

Founded by Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons in 1990, Timorous Beasties continues to offer a portfolio of well over 500 original designs. The brand focuses on hand and digitally printed fabric and wallpaper designed in-house by Paul and Alistair and then made in the UK to the very highest standards.

They issue every design to their Glasgow and Edinburgh-based showrooms where clients can reimagine their interiors, bringing hushed grandiosity to even the most hopeless parts of their home. Whether it’s on a lampshade or an entire wall, Timorous Beasties knows how to place pattern — and do it with style (and taste).

So it was, of course, a no-brainer for Mar Hall to join forces with the globally renowned brand to execute a gorgeous revamp of what were previously rather subtle interiors. Uber-cool, yes. But still subtle. What a wonderful contrast, though: the Mar Hall mid-century colour scheme, deep walnut paneling and creative monochrome tiling expertly elevated by Timorous Beasties’ whimsical prints… Delicious.

In the bar at Mar Hall, Timorous Beasties’ Bloomsbury Garden wallpaper in Smokey Teal sets a lustrous tone with deep florals and a palette that shifts with the light. True to form, it is subtle yet striking — much like the room itself.

Elsewhere, playful variations emerge. For example, Timorous Beasties’ Pineapple wallpaper, with its tongue-in-cheek nod to tradition appears in bedrooms. The soft, luxurious folds of Zig Zag Moth velvet appear in communal areas, catching the eye just as you melt into the luxurious sofas that make everyone feel at home. In Mar Hall’s suites, Tropical Clouded Leopard fabric offers a journey into a lush, layered jungle. It brings a playfulness to the space that was maybe lacking before.

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Enjoyed this article about the redesign of Mar Hall? Read more about Timorous Beasties work in our article about last year’s launch of the new Edinburgh showroom.

Extravagance and whimsy rule in Timorous Beasties’ Edinburgh showroom