{"id":178692,"date":"2025-06-12T15:26:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/178692\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T15:26:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:26:14","slug":"meet-the-creative-pair-behind-design-studio-salvesen-graham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/178692\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the creative pair behind design studio Salvesen Graham"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anyone who has ever spent an afternoon exploring the hallowed halls of a British stately home \u2013 no doubt admiring the jewel tones on the walls, the grandiose fireplaces, the intricate panelling and the collector\u2019s objects displayed on every surface \u2013 will understand the appeal of a Salvesen Graham<\/a> interior. The design studio, established in 2013 by Mary Graham and Nicole Salvesen, specialises in taking the best features of historic properties and translating them into modern schemes. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved old buildings and I studied history at university, so I\u2019m drawn to a very traditional kind of decorating,\u201d says Graham, who trained under Cindy Leveson, best known for creating the interiors at Goodwood. \u201cI try to combine that with contemporary lifestyles \u2013 for instance, embracing elements of technology in a way that doesn\u2019t feel jarring.\u201d Salvesen similarly took lessons from Nina Campbell, an early mentor, and is passionate about evolving the English style for the 21st century. \u201cWe\u2019re not slaves to the period of any house we work on,\u201d she explains, adding that the joy of decorating a historic property is that each generation has the opportunity to put their own stamp on it.<\/p>\n

\"theCourtesy of Salvesen Graham<\/p>\n

The living-room in Salvesen Graham\u2019s Chelsea town-house project <\/p>\n

This town house in Chelsea, featured among nine properties in Graham and Salvesen\u2019s new book, exemplifies the duo\u2019s talent for combining gravitas with notes of playfulness. Achieved within a remarkable three-month timescale for an American family relocating to London, the project demonstrates many hallmark Salvesen Graham touches, notably the interplay of fabrics, textures and prints. \u201cIf you have the confidence to layer enough different patterns together, it can make a space feel calmer,\u201d says Salvesen. Wallpaper with diminutive repeating motifs works well as a backdrop for the client\u2019s large collection of art. <\/p>\n

\"aCourtesy of Salvesen Graham<\/p>\n

A bedroom<\/p>\n

\"theCourtesy of Salvesen Graham<\/p>\n

The kitchen<\/p>\n

Architectural details are at the heart of a Salvesen Graham scheme, and while extensive remodelling was not an option in this instance, Graham says they still focused on \u201ctransforming the bones of the house\u201d, such as by reinstalling original fireplaces and cornicing. In the double reception space, the addition of a fluted detail on the nib wall helps demarcate the two areas, with one part serving as a formal drawing-room and the other designated for relaxed family activities. \u201cAs with all our projects, it had to be comfortable,\u201d says Salvesen. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter whether we\u2019re working on a tailored London house or a country home \u2013 in the end, we want people to be able to keep their shoes on and put their feet up!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"theCourtesy of Salvesen Graham<\/p>\n

The hallway and staircase<\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anyone who has ever spent an afternoon exploring the hallowed halls of a British stately home \u2013 no…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":178693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,46719,73662,4022,1331,77,3989,1330,73661,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-178692","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-content-type-interview","11":"tag-contentid-0c6f7fa8-e240-4404-b291-53541947e937","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-hasproduct-true","16":"tag-locale-gb","17":"tag-shorttitle-meet-the-duo-at-the-vanguard-of-english-decorating","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114671097958847115","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}