Plain English Design in Conversation with Nicola Harding

Both British masterminds of characterful, layered, and storied spaces—and frequent collaborators—company Plain English Design and designer Nicola Harding share a timeless, well-crafted approach to interiors. Merlin Wright, Design Director of Plain English, joins Nicola Harding in a discussion about their mutual design ethos and the inspiration behind their favorite projects.

About Plain English Design: Founded in Suffolk, England in 1992, Plain English continues to set the benchmark for cabinetry made the old-fashioned way—by hand. Inspired by classic British interiors, our custom designs are suited for the kitchen and beyond. In the US, our Design Studio works across the whole of North America, with our latest projects located in Nashville, TN; Nantucket, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Sun Valley, ID; Jackson Hole, WY; New Orleans, LA; Austin, TX; New York, NY; and San Francisco, CA. We welcome projects from individual clients, architects, interior designers, and contractors, working together from concept through to installation—from start to finish.

Merlin Wright presides as Design Director at Plain English. Merlin’s background was in the craft of studying boat building and cabinetmaking. After working on sailing boats and running a small workshop for several years, Merlin returned to college to study Industrial Design before starting work with Plain English in 2003.

Nicola Harding is a London-based interior designer with a clear mission to create places rich in soulfulness and atmosphere. She instinctively designs homes that work—combining a passion for found pieces and period architecture with a practical understanding of how people want to live.

She has masterminded a wide variety of projects in the UK and further afield, including complex work on historic buildings. Nicola has transformed country homes, townhouses, private members’ clubs, and hotels of all shapes and sizes. Clients include leading figures from the film and music industry, artists, politicians, and royalty.

Her desire to layer stories that reveal and accentuate the character of a building and create somewhere that feels as if it has effortlessly evolved out of the spirit of a place informs each and every project. Her work is human, intimate, and playful.

Unraveling how people’s lives work and how they want their home to feel is key to Nicola creating places that nurture, inspire, and hold them and their family. “I want to give people a sense of belonging—a home that fits not only who they are but who they want to be.”