Q&A With Heanly Harris Interior Design

Founded by Abigail Heanly and Clair Harris, Heanly Harris is a London based design firm with interiors at the heart of their practice. Their process focuses on both form, function and meaningful design to create beautiful, unique homes that their clients love.

What drew you to interior design, and how has your approach evolved over time?

We have both always been creative and were lucky enough to join the industry early on in our careers. Initially like most, we were drawn to the aesthetics of interior design, over time our practice has developed a much more conscious approach which seeks to explore how we can make people’s lives better and more comfortable through the spaces we create.  

Clients often say they want a ‘bespoke’ home. What does that really mean to you?

Bespoke to us means reflecting our client’s personality and style through their home so their identity is present the moment you walk through the front door.  We try to create environments that match their way of life with spaces that bring them a sense of belonging and comfort, that in itself means every home we create has a different feel and uniqueness to it.  Our practice is not tied to a particular look so inherently each project has a different feel and the outcome is always a crafted representation of our clients.

How do you help clients articulate their style if they aren’t sure what it is?

Style for us is not only about aesthetics, we believe that the layout and the way a space works is just as important in formulating a clients style of living.  We spend a lot of time in the briefing stages of each project getting to know our clients by looking at how they currently live, what stage of life they are in and what possessions they already have.  We fold key pieces in to the design whether they be family art or a piece of antique furniture and draw inspiration to form their individual style. 

The building itself also plays a pivotal role in the direction of the project as ultimately the client has chosen it as their home and it is the foundation of the feel of the space and its function.

Where do you begin when designing a home from scratch?

 Firstly, we explore the design aesthetic through inspiring historic references from designers, architects and furniture pieces with reference to the period of the property and it’s surroundings; we work on a lot of heritage homes so we always pay great attention to the period details the building offers.  The layout of each space is then explored and we challenge how it needs to work with our clients brief in mind,  ensuring we pay homage to the style of the property whilst bringing it up to date in terms of modern living.  

The Richmond project with Humphrey Munson is a beautiful example of this. What made that project special?

We worked on a very special project in Richmond upon Thames with the team at Humphrey Munson. When our clients were at home they spent the majority of their time in their large, light filled kitchen space and their brief was to create a number of areas to relax and watch television, dine, cook and entertain.  At one end we designed a cosy library area with a custom fitted sofa and shelving above with a TV cabinet opposite, along with a double sided kitchen with centre island, all designed and installed by Humphrey Munson.  

After visiting their showroom in Felsted, our clients also fell in love with the Lexington dining table and Havisham chairs.  We worked with the team to select colours that folded in with the overall aesthetic of the house and added in key pieces of lighting and fabric to tailor the space to our client’s style.  

How do you balance comfort with luxury in your work?

A home should be lived in so comfort is paramount when we are sourcing anything.  We always select quality finishes and pieces of furniture that are beautiful yet still suitable for the way our clients aspire to live and which match the demands of everyday life.  For us, luxury and comfort go hand in hand so our sourcing library is full of staple pieces, fabrics and finishes that we have sourced over time and that are tried and tested.

What’s your approach to colour and materials and do you have an overall impact you want to achieve in a residential project?

We use layers of materials to create rich, tactile schemes which welcome you in to spending time in the space.  More often than not we find colour inspiration from an initial source which may be a piece of art, a patterned fabric or a rug and these can often start a thread for the whole project’s colour scheme.  Our intention is to create a cohesive story throughout the house which is rich and full of character whilst comfortable and practical.

What do you wish more clients knew before they start a project?

Designing luxury interiors takes time, results require thought, planning and collaboration so it is important to understand that a well executed project won’t happen overnight.  From the initial concept to sourcing the perfect pieces, designing custom joinery, procurement of goods and inevitable delays, a project can stretch over years if it is executed to the level of detail our projects require. 

And finally, what’s the one element that instantly elevates a space?

For us, lighting makes a huge difference to a space and is one of the first parts of the floor plan we tackle after the layout and scale of furniture. We tend to offer a day and evening setting so rooms can change from high functioning spaces to places to relax in with softer lighting in the way of side lamps, wall lights and dimmable pendants.  These elements also play a huge role in the decoration of the space so we work especially hard to source pieces that add to the character of the room and can often be antiques that we find on our travels. 

Images by Chris Snook.