CASE STUDY
enveloping guests in the Highland landscape. For The Goring, an array of exotic animals offered tongue in cheek references to founding family members. This time, Russell challenged Fromental’ s artists to capture something more elusive- the myths, landscape and elemental forces of Islay across 15 spaces.
Russell Sage’ s interiors are at once exuberant, eccentric and occasionally surreal. His vision for“ luxury with a laugh” at Ardbeg House gave Fromental’ s team licence to push boundaries, layering metaphor with sensory details that made the walls themselves essential to the story.
Highlights: Standout Suites
The Feis Suite Taking its name from the Gaelic word for festival, the Feis suite features a bespoke rendition of the Ponti wallcovering in Appogia. Multicoloured panels of hand-painted Travertine- a carnivalesque medley of reds, blues, greens, and oranges- splice together in jubilant celebration. The en-suite features a fully custom design that evokes tempestuous Hebridean skies, achieved through digital manipulation of Fromental’ s unique saltwood technique. Here, salt draws paint into evocative shapes and textures, printed on metallic silver voile.
The Legend Suite The Legend Suite’ s Rockpool wallcovering, initially hand-painted by co-founder, Lizzie Deshayes, pays tribute to the island’ s intimate relationship with the sea and the ever-changing moods of coastal waters. Flowing into the bathroom, an inverted iteration of the Willow wallcovering design evokes swaying sea grass, immersing guests in an underwater reverie.
The Rebel Suite Crashing around the walls of the Rebel Suite like storm-driven waves, this custom Fromental design originated from an archival tapestry. Replicated through hand-painting and dramatically scaled up, it was printed on gilded paper, creating an abstract interpretation of turbulent waters beating against Islay’ s rugged shores.
The Monsters and Beasties Suites Paying tribute to the land and its legends, Russell drew inspiration from the skins of legendary creatures. The Monster Suite features an original mosaic design adapted as a textured effect on gilded paper, evoking crocodile skin- a playful wink to the island’ s more fantastical lore. In the Wee Beastie Suite, referencing Robert Burns’ poem“ To a Mouse,” a textured snakeskin pattern was scaled up dramatically by 200 % and finished with a high-gloss treatment.
Where contemporary luxury hotels often whisper in hushed tones, Ardbeg House sings- of Russell’ s daring vision, of patient craftsmanship and of Islay’ s distinctive character. Salt crystals become storm clouds, mosaic fragments become monster skin, and tapestry archives become crashing waves.
The result transports guests to another world entirely – one where folklore breathes through the walls and every surface holds a story. In embracing the riotous, the unexpected, the smile-inducing, Ardbeg House proves that luxury needn’ t take itself too seriously to take your breath away.
Photography credit: Sim Canetty Clarke
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