Decorating & Design
March 21, 2022
See London Designer Beata Heuman’s Whimsical English Style
The heavens were definitely smiling on 21-year-old student Beata Heuman in 2004 when — disillusioned by the interior design course she was studying in London — she landed a job interview with one of the lions of British design, Nicky Haslam. Beata admitted she didn’t even know who he was, but Nicky, always a rebel, wasn’t snubbed and took a chance on the Swedish expat.
Over the next nine years, mentored by both Nicky and his number two, Canadian designer Colette van den Thillart, Beata developed her own theatrical style (think bold colors, layered patterns and timeless furniture). In a move she called a natural progression, she launched her eponymous firm in 2013, taking on projects such as Chelsea restaurant Farm Girl, London townhouses, a Nantucket clapboard house and a new-build in Hamburg. The firm was included on Architectural Digest’s prestigious Top 100 in 2020 and 2021.
To further her commitment to craftsmanship, Beata had been selling artisanal items on a small scale since 2015, and unveiled her e-commerce site, Shoppa.beataheuman.com, in 2019. Offerings include sumptuous velvet pillows, marbled wallpaper, lighting, and brass coasters and hand-forged hardware produced by small, independent Swedish, British or Italian makers.
2021 marked another major milestone in Beata’s career: the launch of her first book, Every Room Should Sing. The book showcases 10 of her projects, including her own 1870 townhouse in London’s Hammersmith neighborhood, where Beata folds in bespoke items like a brass-trellised, confectionary-inspired glass ceiling in the kitchen — an ornate backdrop for her Dodo Egg pendant. In our March 2022 issue, we asked Beata about her journey from a fresh-faced junior designer’s assistant to running her own 11-person firm, and how she brings a fantastical element to eclectic British decorating.
Keep scrolling to see what she had to say!
Beata added the wall, sliding door and bookshelves in her living room.
House & Home: What did you take away from your experience with Nicky and Colette?
Beata Heuman: I like taking risks and doing the unexpected. I’ve always been drawn to that way of creating, and Nicky does that in spades. He’s irreverent; he likes doing the thing you expect him not to do, and he’s not precious about what materials you can use. Nicky knows about convention but doesn’t take much note of it. You always hope clients will think a project looks amazing, but I admit there’s a real thrill that comes from wondering whether it will be understood and well received.
The mural in the bedroom of Beata’s daughters, Gurli and Alma, depicts rabbits sipping martinis.
H&H: How do you use those lessons when designing?
BH: They taught me how to execute difficult tasks but also how to have fun. I was having martinis with Nicky and Colette at the Carlyle Hotel in New York when I fell in love with the Ludwig Bemelmans mural in the bar. When I was pregnant with my daughter Gurli, I used it as inspiration to create a magical room for her with a mural that included nice local details like the top of Hammersmith Bridge. I love that contrast of the childish motif and the rabbits who are drinking, smoking and being a bit naughty.
In Beata’s kitchen, her Dodo Egg pendants draw the eye up to a glass ceiling inspired by patisserie ceilings in Stockholm. Blue cabinets hide the fridge.
H&H: How would you describe your style in one sentence?
BH: Imaginative, considered and fresh.
The seagrass panels in this drawing room are embellished with a decorative border. Beata’s Luckdragon stool is based on curule stools used in ancient Rome.
H&H: Do you have any signature moves?
BH: I like paw feet and giving pieces of furniture almost a personality. We often make bespoke furniture; you get a lot of straight lines in average shops, so I like introducing undulating lines and curves. All of our projects are filled with bespoke pieces or one-offs. I don’t like repeating myself — I try to evolve.
A bleached oak floor, natural marble and rustic ceiling ground the theatricality of this bathroom’s pitched ceiling and coral-motif pendant.
H&H: Where do you source items?
BH: I love going to antique markets and feel inspired by sites like 1stDibs, which has great photos. If we aren’t going the bespoke route, we gravitate toward vintage to get something completely unique and reasonably priced. Ideally, your home should look like it’s been decorated over a generation or two.
Discover Beata’s favorite finds below!
Beata’s Dodo Egg pendant is crowned with painted brass palm fronds.
“All my bedding is Mille Notti. I like white without embellishments, and the cotton gets better with age,” she says.
“I wear By Terry lip balm in Bloom Berry. It’s like a gloss but quite densely pigmented.”
“My favorite restaurant is The River Café in London.”
These trays are made in Sweden from sustainably sourced birch. “I love marbleized patterns and use them a lot,” she says.
“I wear Eau D’Italie perfume created for the 50th anniversary of Le Sirenuse, the famous hotel in Positano on the Amalfi Coast.”
Simon Brown
Beata Heuman