Interior Design
In Conversation With David Nicholls
In a very special 'In conversation with', we speak to David Nicholls, Deputy Editor of House & Garden and Author of A New English Style, Timeless Interiors by Salvesen Graham. We find out about what inspired his love for the written word and how his Canadian roots haven’t hampered his passion for English decorating.
Author of the Salvesen Graham Book: A New English Style
How did you get started in your career?
I was incredibly lucky that a very kind and generous editor at Time Out magazine took a chance on me and commissioned me to write a weekly guide to shopping for the home. It was the late 1990s and I was still at university, so my student job was a regular writing gig rather than pulling pints. I studied English Language & Literature, so words and writing were always something I was interested in. By the time I graduated, I had enough of a portfolio to get a job at Livingetc where I became its Features Editor. A few years later I joined the Daily Telegraph where I worked as the Design Editor of its Magazine for over a decade. It’s hard to believe I’ve now been at House & Garden as its Deputy Editor for 10 years.Favourite and most underrated place in England?
Gosh that’s a tricky one. I’m a bit of a weekend rambler, and love to get out of the city for long walks in the countryside, most recently in the South Downs which was absolutely beautiful. Hardly underrated though. My family is from the West Midlands which I think gets overlooked and written off as a place past its industrial era hay-day. There is some beautiful countryside in the area.
All time favourite home?
The one I grew up in! My parents emigrated from England to a very small town in Western Canada. They bought the tiniest clapboard house which my Dad then doubled in size with his own two hands. It was the 1970s and my mother was very homesick for the UK, so there were chintz curtains and a certain mock Tudarbethan vibe going on. But it was beautiful and comfortable and home. We left that house when I was ten years old but I still have such strong memories of the moss-green velvet sofas, the decoupage flowers that my mum pasted onto the kitchen cupboards and the enormous hi-fi cabinet that held the record collection. Weekends were lived to a soundtrack of ABBA, Bony M, Queen - or Roger Whitaker…. The house has since been torn down (replaced by a McMansion) but I have a drawing of it done by a family friend for years ago that now hangs in my own home.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
Writing can sometimes feel a little like figuring out a puzzle. There are all these components (the information you want to convey) that need to be slotted together in just the right way. The thing is, there are often multiple possible solutions. And that’s what I love: piecing it all together in a way that gets the story across, but in a way that feels as though I’m telling it, rather than someone else (or ChatGPT!).Favourite Salvesen Graham room?
Are you fishing for compliments? Outrageous! Well I couldn’t possibly choose just one. In no particular order, I love the boot room of the Arts and Crafts house featured on p 208. Its utilitarian nature has been so effectively warmed up with texture and layers, from the hexagon shaped brick tiles to the antique table and bench to the flatweave rug on the floor. In stark contrast is the chintz on chintz on chintz bedroom of the Flint House shown on pages 89 and 90. It’s absolutely wonderful.
What do you see as the new English style?
It’s a really exciting time for British interior design as we’re in the midst of a ‘changing of the guards’ moment. In recent years we’ve lost some of the people who helped define what English decorating was in the late 20th century, and others are taking on fewer projects as they near retirement. But as one era ends another begins, and with it comes a new perspective. If there is a new English style (and I believe there is) it is a little lighter, a little fresher and with more diverse source materials informing the aesthetic. At its best I think it’s a gentle evolution, bringing a modern spirit to traditional ideas and spaces.Is there an aspect of English decorating you love the most?
Ten years ago I was a confirmed modernist and couldn’t have imagined writing a sentence like: ‘It’s the decorative details that always give me a thrill when I see a really beautifully put-together room’. But it’s true. And I love the fact that my tastes have evolved to a place where I can coo over some extraordinary passementerie as much as I can an incredible, original piece by Finn Juhl. In some ways decorating a room can be like writing a story: it’s a piecing together of elements or details. And I love seeing how designers make their selections and stitch them all together to create their own narrative for a space. It’s what can bring a room to life.
What are you most excited for people to see in the book?
I’m really proud of and endlessly impressed by what Mary and Nicole have achieved after a decade or so. They always wanted the book to be something more than simply a portfolio of their projects, which is why we interspersed each house with a short essay on their approach to various aspects of English decorating. It’s where we get more of a feel for their personalities and tastes and ideas. They’ve got a lot of interesting (and often quite funny) things to say and were incredibly generous in sharing it all.
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