Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham go way back. All the way back to their college years, in fact.

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The design duo met at university in the north of England and bonded further when working for esteemed decorators in London (Mary cut her teeth at Cindy Leveson; Nicole at Nina Campbell—mother of Rita Konig). “It was hard to offload to friends working in law or banking about the peculiarities of our industry,” recalls Mary. When Nicole was preparing to branch out on her own as she welcomed her first child, they realized that the saying ‘two heads are better than one’ could apply to a creative partnership.

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That was over a decade ago. In the years since, each project—spanning London townhouses, English country homes, European ski chalets, and an increasing client base in the US—has cemented Salvesen Graham as a practice synonymous with reinterpreting quintessentially British design for modern living. “We talk about heritage interiors a lot, and while there’s a lot of integrity in what we do, we’re not slaves to the history of a building,” explains Nicole. “We create spaces that feel authentic, and will continue to do so in 20 years’ time.”

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While there are SG hallmarks (jib doors, club fenders, and a predilection for the color green to name a few) what unites the pair’s work runs far deeper. “A lot of it isn’t tangible in a photograph, what links our projects is how they feel when you’re in them,” says Nicole. “Every room we create is an amalgamation of our aesthetic and contains the very best of us.”

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The designers added a product line—The Collection by Salvesen Graham—to their creative arsenal in 2020. A realization of the ultimate jumbo check fabric and floral trail wallpaper simmering away in their imagination, the final piece of the jigsaw is their exquisitely curated Showroom, which you can now shop on The Expert.

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What’s inspiring us right now

Mary: We're currently working on a French château in the Loire Valley for a Parisian family. It’s been so interesting discovering how different 17th-century French textiles are compared to English designs from the same period—they’re often quite ribbony in nature, and incredibly decorative with amazing colors. It’s a style of fabric that we haven’t been immersed in before, and it’s been so fun.

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The color we’re loving

Nicole: We love a sludgy green! Little Greene does a mustardy shade called Light Bronze Green which we use everywhere, from walls to woodwork.

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Mary: We also love green for fabrics. Often if we’re seeking neutrals, we tend to go for green or brown rather than cream. They work surprisingly well with brighter colors and patterns.

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The first thing we do when we design a space

Nicole: We always start with getting the layout right. And I don’t just mean a flat floorplan—we think about the vertical and horizontal components too. For example in bedrooms, we like to do bed treatments and use four-poster frames, but that’s dictated by the architecture and the room’s proportions.

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What we buy vintage versus new

Mary: There's never a scheme of ours that doesn't include an antique. We almost always use chests of drawers—whether Georgian style or mid-century-modern. We source antique commodes and nightstands, but for wardrobes, we prefer having something custom-made to gain maximum storage.

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Nicole: English interiors are very collected over time, which gives them authenticity. Sometimes it's obvious what’s needed and other times, we use placeholders while we trawl resources like The Expert Vintage until we find just the right artwork or accent piece.

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Our formula for mixing patterns

Mary: Quite often we start with what we call a hero fabric—something multicolored or multi-tonal and patterned—which is the essence of the room. From that, we extrapolate different colors. If the print is a floral, chances are there are leaves in it, so we might bring in a green. If it's a big pattern, we'd balance that with a different scale. We like to bring in vintage textiles too, whether that's on a fender, a pillow, or a wall hanging to stop everything feeling too flat and new. If the main fabric is a print, we'll add textured wovens or horsehair to help with layering.

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How we layer a space

Mary: Layering for us starts from the word go. At that early floorplan stage, we’re considering the finish on the floor against all the materials in the room. If it’s a shiny lacquered wall, will it need something matte to knock it off? The bits that people think are layering—the pillows, lampshades—that's the icing on the cake. You need all the other elements before that, otherwise it can look a bit superficial.

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Something we recommend to all clients

Mary: Less in the way of product, and more in the way of advice is: “Hold your nerve!” Waiting until everything is installed and finished is crucial because that sludgy green we adore can look quite terrifying in an empty room. We look at everything so holistically that by the time the coffee table books are perched on the ottoman, it all makes sense.

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Nicole: Another thing we recommend is not going too open-plan. That's not to say that we don't love really big rooms, but the whole house shouldn’t be open—everyone needs cozy spaces to retreat to.

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Something you’ll never see in our projects

Nicole: Feature walls! Using a color or wallpaper in just one place can throw the balance of everything else off. Just commit to using a color or pattern everywhere.

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How we curated our edit

Mary: We split it up and I did fabrics, choosing brands that we know and love, such as Schumacher, alongside chintz-inspired textiles and Indienne block prints which Lee Jofa is brilliant for.

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Nicole: Our selection enables us to show our love of antiques and classic designs with new pieces from the likes of Chaddock and reinterpretations of mid-century furniture from the versatile Nicky Kehoe collection.

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How Showroom helps with our consultations

Nicole: It’s great to see that amongst the brands mastering the cool, laid-back California vibe, there's breadth in the offering to do the layered, English look too. When we look at our Showroom as a whole, it speaks to how we create interiors: it’s a mixture of so many different aesthetics, always with a dash of the unexpected.

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Our go-to finishing touch

Nicole: Maybe because we’re children of the 1980s, we’re partial to borders to finish off a room. A braid or a pattern running around the cornice or the doors and windows is like that last piece of jewelry you add to an outfit. It inspired us to create our own range.

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What’s next

Mary: We are developing a new fabric range and unveiling a rug with Jennifer Manners at London Design Week. We’re also working on a somewhat retrospective project which we can’t talk about just yet—but watch this space!

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