My Houzz: Winging It in a Scottish Castle

In 2000 Nicola Hallsworth moved from England to Scotland, where her husband, Fred, had bought a house in the suburbs of Glasgow. Being a country girl at heart, Nicola wasn’t keen on life in the suburbs and longed to move to the countryside. One morning she saw a section of this castle advertised for sale in The Herald newspaper and asked Fred whether he’d be willing to move to the country. Fred’s reply: “If we can make a profit on our current house and find one with the same amount of wow factor no further than 30 minutes from Glasgow, then I’ll consider it.” Nicola turned the paper around and showed him the property. They bought it in April 2006.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Fred and Nicola Hallsworth with 2 two dogs, Serge the French mastiff and Paddy the British bulldog
Location: The Glasgow countryside, Scotland
Size: A 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom wing


The castle is split into six separate properties. As it was originally built in wings, it subdivided nicely. It also has a grand communal hall (not shown) that can be used for entertaining. In 2013 Fred hosted a big birthday celebration there with more than 60 guests.

The castle in its entirety is so big that Nicola compares living with their neighbors to living at opposite ends of a street of terraced houses. “We never bump into each other; this summer it was only Fred and me in the whole place,” she says.

Nicola and Fred share the main front door with the owners of one other wing. Their personal door is just off the great hall, which makes for a nice “Welcome home.”





The front door opens to the morning room, so called because, according to Nicola, when the sun streams in, “it’s a beautiful room in which to sit with a coffee and a newspaper.” Window seats conceal cast iron radiators, so even on cold winter mornings, it’s a lovely place in which to curl up.

The bergère suite came from their old home, and the stripes contrast nicely with the floral wallpaper and rug. The black in the room adds a gothic touch. “I love moody rooms,” Nicola says.

The Hallsworths have always been avid art collectors. The painting in the morning room is by Jacqueline Marr. “It was painted for that very spot, as far as I’m concerned,” Nicola says. The subject’s wistful gaze out of the window fits perfectly.

Nicola is passionate about interior design and has worked on various projects in her free time. Over the years she has shaped the home to reflect the couple’s interests and style. The beautiful oak floors and stairs, for instance, were covered in sea grass matting; she had it ripped up and the wood sanded down before they moved in. Then it was a case of finding the right colors, fabrics and fittings with which to decorate the property and make it theirs. With such a grand space, it was important for Fred and Nicola to make it feel homey and comfortable. “It’s not a show home,” she says.


This is the original library, built in 1878. It was the penultimate addition to the castle and was overseen by Lady Anne Speirs, the eldest daughter of the fourth Earl of Radnor. Most of the original books were sold, but the couple inherited quite a few books with the property and have been collecting them ever since. The shelving is the original lined oak, and Nicola is adamant about never changing it.

She bought the two enormous lamps on either side of the sofa without knowing where she was going to put them. She loved them so much that she vowed to make them work somewhere. She then found the two little occasional tables and had them covered to hold the lamps.





As the shelves were so extensive, the Hallsworths removed a few so they could display their artworks. They tend to agree on the big pieces, although there is some divergence in taste.

“I’m very much of a figurative artist,” Nicola says. “I love figurative work, whereas Fred prefers something a bit more radical, such as Peter Howsen.” Luckily, there are enough walls in the castle wing to house them all.
This fireplace is a particular favorite with the couple. The painting is by Gerard M. Burns — it’s rumored that actor Ewan McGregor has a larger version of it hanging in his kitchen.


When it’s just the two of them on a cold, windy night, this is the best spot, says Nicola. “There’s nothing nicer than snuggling up in the library [with a] roaring fire, shutters closed.”


From the library a spiral staircase leads down to the dining room. When the Hallsworths bought the house, the red runner and carpet were in place, along with vivid turquoise walls. Nicola, never afraid of being bold, kept the carpets and created a dark, gothic vibe with near-black walls in Railings by Farrow & Ball.


The dining room is now a moody space that’s perfect for entertaining, particularly on winter evenings. Nicola bought the solid-oak dresser on eBay for 1,000 British pounds (about U.S.$1,625). It came from a big, stately home in Cheshire, England, and Nicola was thrilled when it arrived. In most other rooms, the size and weight of the piece might be overwhelming, but here it broods in the corner, in keeping with the room’s sultry ambience.

The centerpiece was bought in an online auction and came from an ecclesiastical reclamation place in Belgium. It is bronze and features two women holding four candelabras. “The room needs a lot of candles when it’s doing its whole gothic thing,” Nicola explains.


The dining room leads to an eat-in kitchen, which can also be accessed from a main staircase that leads back up to the morning room, and up again to the top floor of the home. The kitchen is by Plain English in Suffolk, which specializes in custom Shaker-style units.

Nicola says she and Fred keep the formal dining room for special occasions; when it’s just the two of them, they are “permanently seated at the kitchen table,” she says. They wanted the kitchen to feel as if it had always been there. “It’s not a grand room, and was never meant to be,” she says.


When they installed the kitchen, it was a paler blue-gray, but they painted it a stronger gray a couple of years ago. “I love the whole muted, understated look,” Nicola says. “We wanted to do something a bit different with the sinks,” she adds. The copper sinks on the right and in the island contrast beautifully with the cabinet color.


The Hallsworths kept the shutters in the original natural wood. “If you keep painting shutters, they end up not working,” Nicola explains. “We love to be able to close them and keep the house toasty and warm.”

The fabric is Grand Blotch Damask by Glaswegian company Timorous Beasties. “They do the most amazing fabric designs, really off-the-wall,” Nicola says. “In fact, our house is kind of an homage to them.” The curtains in the library and the wallpapers in the morning room and main bathroom are all from the same company.


The main staircase is original and runs through all three floors. The dining room, kitchen, cloakroom and a bedroom are on the lower floor. The morning room and library are on the first floor; three more bedrooms and two bathrooms are upstairs.


With five grown children who have now flown the nest, the couple needed space for them to come and visit comfortably. One daughter chose Laura Ashley floral wallpaper and curtains in this room to create a light, fresh atmosphere. The basin is the original.


“The master bedroom, with its many windows and circular turret, was incredibly difficult to furnish,” Nicola admits. The red sofa came from the old house and is from Designers Guild. “My taste is very eclectic,” she says. “I tend to just chuck things together, and they seem to work.”

The cobalt-blue chandelier came next. Nicola says she went “quite mad with the light fitting [aka fixture] but fell in love with it. Although it’s dramatic, it works well with the traditional wallpaper.” It can’t be touched except with gloves on to keep from leaving fingerprints. The fixture, in common with many in the house, is from David Canepa, designed by Kevin McCloud; it contrasts powerfully with the red.

She tied the blue light fixture, gold walls and red sofa together with a patterned carpet. “I tend to do this,” she says. “I fall in love with one piece and then decorate a room around it.”


Very few people can say they have a turret with a Corinthian-style pillar in their bedroom. Its shape made decorating tricky, but Nicola is quite happy with the way it turned out. She thought about installing a circular dressing table here but decided against it. “I kind of like the idea that it’s just a pretty little corner,” she says.


The fireplace doesn’t work, but it’s still a lovely feature. Previously it was surrounded by dingy black tiles, so Nicola had it restored with these brown tiles interspersed with floral squares.


Eschewing the typical white bathroom, Nicola chose black elements to give this shower room a 1920s feel. “I pinched the idea from Skibo Castle, in Scotland’s eastern highlands,” she says. The white subway tiles make a great backdrop.


To maintain the Victorian feel of another bathroom but give it a modern update, Nicola opted for this bee wallpaper from Timorous Beasties. The freestanding cast iron bath reinforces the Victorian vibe, and was chosen to look as if it had always been there. Nicola uses the bath every day, with candles if there’s time. “The shower room is Fred’s … this is my bathroom,” she jokes.








The castle is set on 9 acres of communal manicured parkland tended by gardeners every week.


Additionally, the Hallsworths have their own private, walled, south-facing garden, where Nicola loves to grow lavender to make her own lavender water. They eat out here every night in summer.


Fred enjoys reading the newspaper in the garden.


Nicola and Fred next to the grand piano in the communal great hall.

URL: My Houzz: Winging It in a Scottish Castle http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-24666.html