Studio Harman Kaur

Two different designs for clients who weren't sure whether to go with a fireplace or a media wall. They wanted a media wall, so I gave them one 🤷🏻‍♀️ BUT...
..I also gave them a fireplace option because I thought it was a better decision! The room really lent itself to a formal setting, and they already had a large media wall in another room.

They agreed with my recommendation to go with a fireplace, and I think it's a good decision. Let me know which option you would choose - option 1 or option 2?

Myra Project - we have photos! Every project takes time but it's so worth it when the end result is this beautiful!

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If anyone has any ideas for keeping kids entertained in this monsoon season, please let me know 😬

Wimbledon Antiques this Sunday - looks like it's going to be a wet one 🥲

Follow along on stories if you want to experience the joy but also stay nice and dry, because it's JULY. We should be struggling to sleep in the heat and slapping on sunscreen by now 😩

Anyway, which is your favourite materials board - 1, 2 or 3?

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Never underestimate the power of contrast! During my 1:1 Consultation with a client in Battersea earlier this week, we were discussing colour palettes and she liked a very soft, cool palette. But she wasn't keen on any dark colours- this was part of the reason the room looked a little flat. Contrast is so important - whether that's through colour or texture, use it and see how it makes your space visually interesting!

Day 1 of the summer holidays - this is how my living room currently looks. Will share the AFTER photos in 6 weeks 🫣

ARCHES - A few years ago, when I was designing a large custom build home for one of my first clients, I really hammered it home about arches. "Arches are an emerging trend and are going to be HUGE, but they are also completely timeless."

And here we are. They're everywhere and not going anywhere. This is the benefit of having an interior designer working with your architect from day one. We just know 🙌🏾

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The before photo was taken close to 7 years ago now. We had just moved in, bought this stunning cabinet with aged brass cup handles, stuck a tv on the wall, and thought, "That'll do for now." We became wrapped up in our lives, work, I fell pregnant with twins, and our priorities changed completely. We didn't find time to come back to the space and really think about what we needed from it and how it should function.

It was only once I was on maternity leave that I had a (sleep deprived) moment to think about how much time we had spent in a house that wasn't serving us. We lived with these insipid, plain white walls for years! It was only once we finished the space that we realised how much joy it would bring us.

I now love spending time here, reading with my daughters, having breakfast, working, and catching up with family and friends. This is your sign to finish that room, buy the pretty flowers that you admire every week in the supermarket and really enjoy your home!

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There once was a gaping hole in my life. I filled it with joinery. Do it, you won't regret it!

This bookcase is such a hard-working space. My children used to climb up it when I wasn't watching (I think they secretly still do!).

I put joinery in every project I work on - I recently designed a beautiful media unit for our Spicer Project in Surrey, which is almost ready to photograph - I'm so excited to share it with you. This project was a large single storey extension and renovation. The space was a small, awkwardly shaped kitchen and has now been converted into a stunning open-plan kitchen/living area. The media unit creates a clear focal point in the room and really grounds the space.

Do you have any joinery in your home? 🙌🏽

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Good morning, everyone! I thought it was about time I put my face on here and introduced myself properly.

Hi, I'm Harman! I live in Wokingham, Berkshire, with my husband and twin daughters. I studied Business & Economics at university because it was expected that I would study a traditionally academic subject. Creative disciplines were not always seen as serious or valued, perhaps, in my family, which I actually do understand. For immigrant communities, establishing yourself in a new country and becoming financially stable is critical, and the safest way to do that is to choose a safe and stable profession.

So that's what I did for a few years after graduating in my safe degree - I worked in the civil service and then corporate HR, but never felt as though I'd found "it". The elusive *thing* that I was supposed to do with my life. I'd found that conviction and purpose in other areas of my life, but not professionally.

So I got to my late twenties and thought, "Well, this is it now! I'm past it. It's too late to do anything else." Comical, I know. Then I had my twin daughters, went on maternity leave, and my husband basically said..."if there are any pivots in your career, now is the time." Having my daughters and then turning 30 had also made me realise that I wasn't old, and the trajectory of my life wasn't set in stone.

So, I set out to learn everything I would need to know to set up my own design studio and started getting paid clients, which was mind-blowing. Up until this point, I had never met an interior designer (they were like unicorns as far as I was concerned) and now I was one.

And I absolutely love it. This is it, I found it. Working for myself really pushes me, and I'm only happy when I'm learning.

I also love learning about things not related to design. I love history, specifically Sikh history. I also love learning about different design movements and seeing how they shape our homes, our furniture, and the way that we live today.

Do you feel as though you've found "it"? Let me know 👇🏽 Have a lovely Sunday x

Spot the marquetry egg (swipe for close up).

Cutest find ever - no need for it, never darned a sock in my life, wouldn't know where to start, but it's pretty, and sometimes that's ok.

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The panelling in this office really is the star of the show. It's a dark forest green colour (Studio Green by Farrow & Ball) and so striking. This is a small box room and sometimes, when you are confronted with such a small space, the best thing to do is accept that it's small and have fun with it.

Forest green and other earthy tones are also great for office spaces because of Biophilic design (design that connects you to nature). I also put this desk in the middle of the room which seems like a strange choice for such a small space. Surely, you'd want the desk up against a wall so that it's out of the way? Putting the desk in the middle means I have storage both behind me and in front of me, I can see both the door and out of the window (another Biophilic principle) and the room also has some symmetry which makes everything look purposeful and pleasing to the eye.

This room is very functional and honestly, the best place to work! I love what I do, and having a well organised, beautiful space in which to work is such a joy 🥳

Hope you all have something nice planned for today!

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Good morning! I shared some photos from a site visit to my newest project on stories yesterday (also saved as a highlight under Walden Project) and thought I'd chat a bit more about it here.

This project is really exciting because whilst the client has a broad vision, they are giving me so much creative freedom and are really open to doing something unique and interesting with the space 🙌🏾 It's a privilege having that trust, and honestly, it allows me to really push the boundaries of the design to make sure that the final result is spectacular.

I'm so excited to be drawing up the floorplans today and then moving onto the 3D models so that we can really visualise the space and finalise the designs before all the work starts 🥳

People often start the building work, get all of their lightng and electrics done, and then think, "Right, now I'll get a designer/make design decisions." It's too late. Your joinery isn't going to be lit. You may not have left a sufficient recess for the depth of the joinery. You may have just put spotlights everywhere and totally missed task lighting and accent lighting. You may want a floating marble shelf somewhere, but the wall hasn't been braced. I've even had someone contact me who I realised hadn't decided where their furniture should be placed and therefore didin't have electrical sockets in any of the right places 🫣 All these mistakes are at the detriment of the design and costly to put right!

I'll be showing you the whole process of designing this property: the floorplans, 3D models, material selection, and much more, so if that sounds interesting, feel free to follow along in stories! Have a great day ☀️

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This cute little frame houses an original wallpaper design from 1847 - how lovely is this design? Have you ever seen something, and known that you'll kick yourself if you don't buy it? This was one of those moments, and I'm so glad I broughtit home! It sort of reminds me of South Asian block print designs.

I bought it at which runs on a Tuesday morning twice a month at Kempton Park Racecourse. They seriously have the best traders and stock - I saw a Charles Dudouyt style oak pedestal sidetable once but had to leave it behind 🥲

Let me know in the comments what your favourite antiques stores/fairs are! 🙌🏽

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Incredible what you can do with a bit of paint and some new hardware! The future is (Studio) Green 🙌🏽

If you look at the before photo, you'll see that a) the colour is a bit drab and b) the hardware looks really clunky. There are some really nice details and elegant trims on this piece, so the very round, chunky k***s always looked really odd. I didn't realise how much they bothered me until I replaced them with these delicate, aged brass ones, and everything just worked 🙌🏽

These small details have made the piece look timeless and striking. Similar principles apply when designing joinery - I recently designed a media unit for a client with a nice vertical reeded wood detail in the doors. Their builder wanted them to put this on the upright faces of the unit - big no 🚫

The upright faces are larger, so the small scale of the reeded wood wouldn't work! It would also have looked a bit cut and paste rather than bespoke. It is a small detail, but these things can make joinery look a bit clumsy. Instead, we decided to add tongue and groove panelling as a backboard to the media unit to continue the vertical design in a subtle way, which also fit the scale of the unit.

Have a lovely Sunday, and let me know in the comments whether you've ever considered custom joinery for your home!