Timorous Beasties: Smoking Rug

In 2016, Dovecot Tapestry Studio created a rug for the Smoking Room at Bowhill Estate in the Scottish Borders. This was part of a larger project of bringing the 138-year-old Smoking Room back into circulation, with the Duke of Buccleuch commissioning new designs for the space with the help of art historian Ben Divall.

The piece, tufted by Kristi Vana, is a hearth rug depicting smoke and an intertwined Buccleuch & Queensberry family insignia using wool from the Bowhill Estate. Kristi worked closely with Paul Simmons of Timorous Beasties, who was commissioned to design textile inspired by the Victorian room’s original furnishing.

Photo credit: Phoebe Grigor