Interior Design

Notes on Design With Nicole Salvesen

In this month's Notes on Design, Nicole Salvesen shares why thoughtful architectural details are the foundation of timeless interiors.

Architectural Details

Why are architectural details so important?

I think they're what give a room its soul. You can fill a space with beautiful furniture and fabrics, but if the architecture doesn't feel resolved, it's difficult for the room to ever feel truly complete.

We always begin by looking at the existing bones of a house and asking how we can enhance them. Sometimes that's about restoring original features, sometimes it's about introducing new ones that feel as though they have always belonged there. The aim is never to create something overly decorative, but to give the room balance.

What are the first things you notice when you walk into a room?

It's often the proportions before anything else. Ceiling height, the relationship between the windows and doors, the width of the skirting boards and whether the architectural details feel in keeping with the scale of the room.

I also notice how openings have been treated. Does the doorway invite you into the next space, or does it interrupt the flow? Is there an architrave, and if so, is it beautifully restrained or more expressive? Sometimes a doorway deserves to make a statement. Other times it should almost disappear, allowing your eye to travel naturally through the house.

These are the sorts of decisions we spend a great deal of time thinking about at the very beginning of a project.

How do you approach architectural details in a new build?

New builds can be wonderfully practical, but they don't always have the layers that make older houses feel so welcoming. The challenge isn't to recreate a period property, but to introduce character in a way that feels authentic to the building.

That might mean adding simple panelling, introducing more considered joinery or ceiling coffering - using materials to create subtle architectural moments. It's often these smaller interventions that have the greatest impact.

Where would you choose to invest, and where can you save?

If your budget is limited, I'd always encourage investing in the elements that are the most used in a house. Beautiful joinery, well-proportioned mouldings and good doors will be appreciated every single day.

Internal doors are something people often overlook, but they occupy a surprising amount of visual space. Fortunately there are now some excellent mid-range options that, paired with good ironmongery and thoughtful paint finishes, can feel every bit as considered as something bespoke.

Furniture can always evolve over time, but the bones of a house are much harder to change later.

Is there a rule for choosing skirting boards, cornicing and architraves?

I'm always a little wary of hard and fast rules because every house is different. Proportion is far more important than following a formula.

As a guide, taller ceilings generally allow for deeper skirting boards and more generous cornicing, while smaller rooms often benefit from something simpler. The details should feel as though they've grown naturally from the architecture, rather than competing with it.

I also think it's important that all of these elements relate to one another. Skirtings, architraves and cornices should feel like members of the same family. When they do, a room immediately feels more harmonious.

How can you enhance the character of a period home?

One of the joys of working on older houses is discovering what remains and deciding what can be reinstated. It's surprising how many original details have been removed over the years.

In our Arts & Crafts project in Hampshire, for example, we lightened the very dark Jacobean wooden panelling to create a fresher look. There are some wonderful specialist makers producing historically informed designs, and they can transform a room without making it feel overly different.

The aim isn't to recreate the past exactly. It's to respect the architectural language of the house while making it work beautifully for modern living.

What's the biggest mistake people make?

Leaving architectural details until the end.

It's very easy to become excited about fabrics, colours and furniture, but those decisions are always stronger when the architecture has been carefully considered first.

Some of my favourite rooms aren't necessarily the most decorated. They're the ones where every element feels connected. The joinery sits comfortably alongside the skirting, the doorways feel naturally proportioned and the architecture quietly supports everything that happens within the room.

When the bones are right, decorating becomes so much easier. The house already knows what it wants to be.