National Decorating Month: Katie Harbison

April is National Decorating Month, and we're spending it with a weekly interview series featuring designers we admire. We're talking to them about what decorating actually means to them, what they're sourcing, and what advice has stuck with them over the years. For us, decorating is where so much of what we do comes together. We spend our days thinking about the objects, the art, the ceramics, but it's designers who bring those pieces into real rooms and real lives.

This week: Katie Harbison.

Photo by Helen Cathcart

Katie Harbison Design is a full-service interior design studio based in London and New York. Katie co-founded the studio in 2021 with her partner James Christian, starting from a kitchen table. Since then, they've taken on projects across the UK, Europe, and North America.

Originally from Dublin, Katie studied interior design there and in Florence, then spent a decade working internationally before launching her own firm. Her approach always starts with the architecture, keeping details consistent between a building's exterior and interior, then layering in a softer sensibility: comfortable textures, a mix of vintage and new. Linen, oak, and stone show up in nearly every project. She describes her goal as creating interiors that soothe rather than stimulate.

Photos by Michael Sinclair

What's the last piece you sourced that you're excited about?

A circa 1650s Brussels tapestry, measuring an impressive 4 by 3 meters, will hang within the double-height entrance hall of a London project we are currently working on. Sourced from Venice, this is an exceptionally special piece, both in its provenance and its craftsmanship.

Photo by Helen Cathcart

What's a historic interior designer or design movement you find yourself returning to?

I find myself consistently returning to the Renaissance period, particularly Florentine architecture. There's a quiet discipline to it, an emphasis on proportion, symmetry, and a restrained elegance that feels both considered and effortless. What I'm most drawn to is how interiors and architecture were conceived as one, with detailing rooted in structure and balance rather than decoration for its own sake. That sense of permanence and architectural integrity is something I'm always striving to bring into my own work. It feels timeless without ever relying on trends.

Photos by Enda Cavanagh (left) and Michael Sinclair (right)

What's on your mood board right now?

My mood board tends to remain fairly consistent, as I'm always drawn to a more timeless, architectural approach. I often find myself referencing classical detailing: proportion, symmetry, and materiality, rather than anything overly trend-driven. It's less about specific styles and more about an underlying language of restraint and balance. I'm particularly interested in how these classical elements can be interpreted in a way that still feels relevant and livable today, pared back, slightly softened, and never overly decorative.

Is there a color or material that finds its way into every project?

Marble is a material that finds its way into every project of ours and often in quite a generous but considered way. In terms of palette, I tend to lean toward a more neutral base, layered with accents of mossy greens, rust tones, and rich, natural woods.