Interior designer Nicola Harding approaches remodeling projects with a one-two punch: “The first thing I do is plan the use of space, quite often reorganizing the way parts of the house are used,” she tells us. “Then I assign paint colors. I understand this is different from the way most decorators work, but, for me, the choice of color is fundamental to unlocking the potential of each space.”
Harding feels this way, no doubt, because she’s so attuned to the mood enhancing of powers of her paint palette. Safe, predictable choices aren’t for her: the London designer, who goes by Nix, loves to invite in an unexpected mix of subtle and decidedly bold hues: see, for instance, Mamma Mia Producer Nick Gilpin’s Stylishly Revived Georgian Manse and A Classic English Country House with an Injection of Color.
Having admired Harding’s dare-devil choices for so long, we decided to ask her to enlighten, and perhaps embolden, us with her way of thinking. As a case study, Harding presented a recent project, an 18th-century house overlooking the Thames on the outskirts of London that she was charged with transforming into a young city family’s weekend retreat. A “soulful and easy atmosphere” was the directive, and a crucial way Harding achieved this was through her use of color.
Photography by Paul Massey, courtesy of Nicola Harding & Co.
1. You can’t go wrong with green
Above: Harding begins by establishing an overall palette but, unlike many, she doesn’t limit herself to a few repeating shades. “I define a core of say five colors and build it out with deeper and softer tones of this core selection,” she explains. “I then add occasional accents of contrasting colors as punctuation.”
In this case, leaf green, cerulean blue, lively reds and pinks, and rich browns set the tone. The colorful prints over the sideboard are by Hormazd Narielwalla via UK art site C&B Curates.
Above: Harding turned two formal reception rooms into a gathering spot kitchen. It overlooks the garden, so she selected pale greens for the walls, Willow III, and trim, Willow IV, both from Paint & Paper Library —”to let the view steal the show”—and chose a vivid Olive Colour from Little Greene for the Plain English cabinetry.
“I wanted there to be some color threads to link the different spaces,” says Harding. “I choose green as the link because it draws the garden and wider landscape into the house, softening the lines between the two. Green is a brilliant color to live with: it works well at all times of day and times of year.”
2. Go pale (but not necessarily white) in a big, busy space
Above: “I always start by making note of the natural light levels in the different spaces,” says Harding. “Where the light is good, such as in this case in the kitchen, I opted for paler colors that enhance the sense of light and space. Where the light levels are lower, I go for richer tones that lend warmth and drama.”
How does Harding test her paint color choices? “I make large samples on lining paper [the paper used on walls as an under layer]. I move them around the space and layer them with other ingredients, including hard finishes, wallpaper, fabrics, etc. I play around with the sample size to make it reflective of the amount of that color I’m considering using. I never look at colors in isolation, always in combination.”
3. Moody blues look good just about anywhere
Above: Harding introduced an orangery-style extension to serve as both a sitting and dining room, and color drenched it in a peacock blue. “Blue exudes calm and tranquility; it takes a starring role in many of our projects thanks to its versatility and depth,” says Harding. “It works wonderfully when combined with warm tones and pink hues. but don’t shy away from pairing it with cooler colors. Personally, I think blue and green are a great combination.”
The walls here are Pure & Original’s lime-plaster paint Marrakech in a shade called Atria, which Harding color-matched in the unlined linen curtains and tiled floor (see bel0w). Her studio made the jewel-toned velvet pillows from a mix of new and vintage fabrics (find similar solid velvet cushions currently on sale in Harding’s own housewares collection, NiX). The large skylight has electric blinds that filter the shifting light.
“I’m always looking at how things work in combination; how adding a green linen sofa to a blue room creates a very different feeling from adding, say, a cherry-colored mohair one,” continues Harding. “The different energies are created largely by color but also texture and the degree to which a surface reflects light. I tend to want the largest elements to be relatively quiet, so that they don’t take up too much space visually but also, so that we don’t tire of them: a sofa and the fabric that covers it is a big investment. The mischief and fun is to be had in the smaller elements that we layer in.”
4. Dark and shiny shades turn small spaces into jewel boxes
Above: “Color really is a series of very cost-effective magic spells, brilliant at transforming the atmosphere of a space for minimal expense,” says Harding. In the adjacent bar, with an Art Deco cocktail cabinet, she deployed Tanner’s Brown from Farrow & Ball on the walls offset by glossy floor tiles from Emery & Cie known as bejmat (they’re a sturdier version of zellige): “The tiles reflect light back into both rooms to magical effect,” says Harding.
Above: The rich browns continue in the library. “Rooms where you spend most time are best with a calm palette,” Harding told House & Garden, “while less-visited areas can be more intense: nice to dip into, but not where you want to be every morning at 7.30 am.” Alongside the Victorian table, a vintage industrial stool in its original green and yellow finish is a typical Harding leavener as is the enamelware hanging light.
5. Doors and trim can be playfully uplifting
Above: Pink meets green in the generous upstairs hall: the walls are Summerset Mauve and the doors and trim are Courtly Rose, both from Pure & Original’s Classico line of eco-friendly chalk-based paints. The hemp dhurrie is from Vanderhurd, Harding’s go-to source for rugs (for more on the workshop, see “As Long As There’s Continuity, You Can Go Wild”: Combining Wallpaper, Fabric, and Rugs with Christine Vanderhurd).
“A trick I like to use is putting a darker color on the woodwork than on the walls,” says Harding. “Ones’ eye stops at the lightest thing we see, so if you paint a window frame in a darker color, your eye is drawn beyond it, to the view.”
6. Restful colors make sense in your bedroom
Above: The main bedroom is painted Pure & Original’s aptly named Calm and Summerset Mauve on the ceiling. The door is Blue Gum, a heritage shade, from Paint & Paper Library also used in the adjoining dressing room.
“I truly believe that color is good for the soul and that is in part because it reminds us of being in nature,” says Harding. “I prefer paints that have a high proportion of natural color pigment: the more natural the colors, the better they make us feel. I love playing around with lots of different paint finishes and brands. Edward Bulmer is a brilliant one that uses a high proportion of natural color pigment”: see “Natural, Not Plastic Paint” from Herefordshire.
7. But in the guest room why not go bold?
Above: “As a small bedroom overlooking the road, it could have been disappointing,’ Harding told House & Garden by way of explaining her choices in the spare room: Galbraith & Paul’s Tile wallpaper in a custom red and pink, Beetlenut paint from Paint & Paper Library for not only the woodwork but the ceiling, and a boldly-patterned flatweave rug from Oka. The contrasting headboard is from Harding’s NiX collection: it’s the Seventh Heaven Upholstered Bed in Intelligent Juniper Velvet.
8. Bathrooms can be both colorful and serene
Above: Pastels enter Harding’s lexicon in the bathroom—accompanied by bold blues and green. The walls are painted Dove, the trim Fawn, and the clawfoot tub Invisible Green, all from Edward Bulmer. The rag rug is vintage Swedish and the window treatment is a custom design: “We created a strong David Hix-inspired shade, applied our own Mineral Blue Laidback Linen, and added a Sanderson trim.” Add Harding: “The combination of the blue and green has a wonderful energy to it. They almost clash and that makes it feel exciting.”
Stay tuned for Harding’s first monograph, out this fall from Rizzoli.
Two more of her standout rooms :
