Nicola Harding's atmospheric, characterful design for a London townhouse
What is the point of form if it’s at the expense of function?’ The rhetorical question is posed by one of the owners of this west London maisonette. He is paraphrasing a maxim of modernist architecture – ‘form follows function’, the belief that the purpose of a building or object should be the determining factor of its look. Out of context, the owner’s comment might suggest a rather cold approach to the idea of ‘home’ – utilitarian spaces created without the joys of expression or ornamentation. But, as the photographs of this project illustrate, this is not the case.
How could it be, when the interior designer whose help he and his wife sought was Nicola Harding? The Harding & Read founder’s projects are known for their atmosphere-defining approach to colour, judicious use of pattern and well-chosen antiques. More importantly, says the owner, ‘Nicola understands that family life is messy. You can’t have a home that fights against the way you live.’
The North American owners first moved to London from New York 16 years ago. In 2008 they bought the raised ground-floor flat in a nineteenth-century stucco-fronted house on a pretty garden square. They later acquired two other flats in the same building to accommodate their growing family – they now have two children. The newly rejoined floors provided plenty of space for Nicola to work with, including three bedrooms. The owners brought to the equation an impressive art collection, a love of travel and a sense of family history: he is Canadian of Indian descent and she is an American whose family is Burmese.
Antique dealer and decorator Robert Kime has said that, for him, the starting point for the decorating scheme in any room is a good rug. In the case of the sitting room at the front of the building, the rug was one that the couple already owned: a large Arabesque design made by The Rug Company in collaboration with Designers Guild. Nicola has built a moody, grown-up space around it, with a bespoke lacquer paint effect applied to the walls. This frames a mix of new and antique furniture, from French Revival to Arts and Crafts to Fifties; the pieces sit together as though the room has been filled over a lifetime, if not generations.
This sense of being built up over time is something that was important to the clients. ‘Like so many of the houses in the area, ours had been chopped about over the years,’ says the wife. ‘But some of our neighbours’ houses have been in their families for years and have a sense of character. They are playful and a bit bohemian.’ It is a notoriously difficult look to achieve from scratch. ‘When people walk in, they get a sense that it is our place,’ says the husband. ‘That is down to Nicola’s art of listening and understanding.’
Helping to re-infuse the space with a sense of history was Nicola’s network of specialist artisans. ‘She introduced us to a brilliant cast of characters,’ says his wife, referring to blacksmiths and lacquer experts, furniture makers and antique dealers. ‘The beauty comes from the handmade nature of everything,’ says her husband. ‘Things were crafted with such quality that their beauty is astounding.’
Extending from the front to the back of one side of the double-fronted house is an open kitchen and dining area. It is voluminous and purposeful – the pièce de résistance of
the project. Above a sweep of dark Shaker-influenced base units along one side, zellige tiles climb up the wall until about a metre from the high ceiling. This faces a wall of nearly full-height Plain English cabinetry in the same style and colour, although here in a glossier finish.
Between the two is a refectory table, which Nicola designed to rise when needed to the height of a work surface. It is a clever alternative to an island. When it is at its lower level, the owners can combine it with a crafting table from the family room at the back of the house to seat 30 for dinner. Howe ‘Camembert Chairs’ – seen throughout the house in different colours – are brought together for these parties: an impossibility in most London kitchens.
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‘We immediately loved Nicola’s colour schemes,’ explains the wife. This is most evident in the family room, where vibrant blues dominate. With its pitched roof, exposed beams and panel boarding, it has the feel of a barn conversion. The sofa is comfortable and the open fire inviting; the crafting table looks as though it sees plenty of action; and, along one wall of a built-in bookcase, a hidden projector screen can descend at the press of a button. ‘The rhythms of a house change throughout the day,’ the wife says. Her husband continues the theme: ‘Our home has to work really hard. It’s filled with kids after school, there are friends round for dinner, grandparents visit regularly. It’s not very big for what we put it through, but it works brilliantly.’
Nicola Harding is a member of The List by House & Garden, our essential directory of design professionals. Find her profile here.
Paul Massey1/10Motif as Transition by the same artist hangs above the chimneypiece. The Arts and Crafts sideboard is from Miles Griffiths Antiques.
Paul Massey2/10Will Foster Studios applied a lacquer paint effect to the walls of the sitting room. A Sixties light from Original in Berlin hangs above the Howe table and 'Camembert Chairs'. The artwork behind is Punctuation by Shahzia Sikander from Pilar Corrias Gallery.
Paul Massey3/10Nicola has combined Farrow & Ball’s ‘Light Blue’ paint on the walls of the family room and panelling with a slightly darker shade – ‘Blue Reef’ by Pure & Original – on the joinery. Cushions by Tobias & the Angel soften the look of a Howe armchair covered in antique overdyed linen.
Paul Massey4/10The wooden crafting table was made by Matthew Cox. Two Vanderhurd rugs help to define the different areas.
Paul Massey5/10Farrow & Ball's 'Elephant's Breath' paint was used on the walls of the kitchen/dining room, with 'Dimity' on the ceiling and 'Dove Tale' on the skirting. The painting is A Floating Soul by Koo Jeong A from Pilar Corrias Gallery.
Paul Massey6/10Matthew Cox made the bespoke tables. The Plain English units are painted in 'Aubergine' eggshell by Pure & Original, with a gloss finish on the matching cupboards.
Paul Massey7/10This bedroom features Galbraith & Paul’s ‘Lattice’ wallpaper in baby blue/kiwi. The armchair is from Dean Antiques. The blind is made from a printed linen by Tobias & the Angel, trimmed with a Claremont velvet.
Paul Massey8/10Farrow & Ball’s ‘Setting Plaster’ paint picks up on pink tiles by Emery & Cie in the bathroom. Howe’s ‘Mark Chair’ is covered in green towelling fabric.
Paul Massey9/10‘Sakura’ wallpaper in sky by Galbraith & Paul and a Vanderhurd rug provide a foil for a dark pink ‘St Bernard’ armchair from Howe and custom-made headboards covered in a matching fabric from Claremont.
Paul Massey10/10The curtain fabric is by Tobias & the Angel, which also made the shade seen on the Pooky table lamp. Felix Lighting Specialists made the wall lights.
