Flooring and carpets

O FLOOR OF SCOTLAND

Your unique, newly-built Scottish home deserves some unique Scottish fl ooring

Kirkcaldy in the Kingdom of Fife is world-famous for the production of linoleum. Today’s Marmoleum is as far removed from your granny’s lino as it could be.

And its environmental credentials make it a product of choice, not to mention its great mid-20th century looks.

Forbo Marmoleum comprises wood flour, as a waste product of the timber industry and never tropical hardwoods; pine rosins mixed with oil pressed from flax seed, to produce a flexible binder and the reverse is woven jute - all natural, sustainable resources. Powdered limestone, which is one of the world’s most abundant resources, and ecologically-friendly pigments, for colour, finish off the product making Marmoleum CO2 neutral, ‘from cradle to gate’, without offsetting. The carbondioxide produced in the extraction, transportation and manufacturing process is balanced by the removal of CO2 through the growing of its natural ingredients such as flax, jute and rosin. Skyeskyns is the sole remaining commercial woolskin tannery in Scotland. It was founded by Clive and Lydia Hartwell in 1983 as a small venture to make use of skins from the lambs on their croft. The business is still in the family and the same, waste-not ethos of the crofter remains.

The business has grown to see its fleeces, rugs and throws featured in homes and design magazines around the world and the tannery site now features a five-star tourist attraction for the island.

Lambskins are sourced ethically and locally, keeping money in the Highlands and Islands economy and reducing the carbon footprint. Tanning agents are recycled and off-cuts from sheepskins are used in products, cushion fillings or insulation.

Another unique feature is that fleeces can be returned to be ‘rejuvenated’ meaning a Skyeskyn product can be an heirloom product that crosses generations.

Top: Marmoleum Modular Forbo. Right: Skyeskyns can decorate homes for generations. Far right: Turnberry Rug Works’ Granada. This is the 30th anniversary year of Turnberry Rug Works Ltd, based in a converted granary building by the shore, producing bespoke rugs and wall hangings which are found in British Embassies, parliaments, including our own, and top hotels, restaurants and homes.

You can buy from Turnberry’s own curated range or go bespoke; they have made a big name for themselves realising the visions of interior designers and architects. A rug designed by the architect who designed your home makes perfect sense.

Turnberry Rug Works crafted the extensive wall hanging designed by Timorous Beasties for the Robert Burns museum in Alloway and commissioned by the National Trust for Scotland.

The team pride themselves that can create almost any concept in the highest quality wools and natural fibres, using the hand tufted method - including a rug featuring Glasgow’s statute of the 1st Duke Willington, complete with his traffic cone hat.