Despite running a successful interior design business, Natascha Dartnall has also found time to open a shop, ND On The Green, selling gorgeous artisan pieces

When was ND Studios started? My career in Interior Design spans 20 years and in 2013 I founded ND Studios based on London’s New Kings Road.

Did you always want to be an interior designer and can you describe your style? I’ve always been completely fascinated by the idea of home and how much it means to different people’s lives. I love heritage buildings and am intrigued how the design of a home and what items people surround themselves with can determine how they live their lives.

I have always had a love of interior design since I was very young. Growing up spending half my time in South Africa and England I had the unique opportunity to experience two completely different design styles and even now I still draw on both for inspiration in my schemes. 

I aim to create comfortable, elegant homes that are to be enjoyed as much as admired. Whether sourcing artwork and one-off antiques, or designing hand-crafted fixtures and repurposing materials, their depth to detail results in cohesive and unique projects.

Sustainability is at the forefront of my mind when I approach each and every project, always exploring new ways to incorporate specialist modernised facilities into old properties in a concealed and sensitive way. Aiming for timeless design and specialising in mixing the old with the new, I always aim to ensure character is brought to each room and scheme.

Do you primarily work on residential projects? I have designed some of the world’s most unique properties including yachts, private jets and listed buildings and currently I am working on mainly residential projects. My main aim is to transform my clients’ imaginations into a reality; creating timeless spaces that are unique to them, tailored to their lifestyle and taste so that it feels like home right from the start. 

With the client’s personality key to each project, I work closely with artisanal makers to create entirely bespoke, high-end furniture and fittings, purposely designed for each project and these makers constantly inspire me with their amazing craftsmanship.

I like to inject fun and intrigue into every project – from high end properties and superyachts, to the modernising of traditional, often listed, buildings. I draw inspiration from the client’s lifestyle and the heritage of the property and am often involved from the genesis of the structural planning of a project, through to the final decorative touches, always being sympathetic to the original structure and features.

Tell me about ND On The Green. What prompted you to open your own store? What do you sell and who is your target customer? I opened ND On The Green, a platform for smaller artisans in 2021. Offering antiques, paintings, soft furnishings and more from small independent makers and experts.

I am constantly sourcing new and exciting items for my interior design projects and when sourcing I realized how useful it would be to have a one-stop shop for beautiful and rare things so I decided to create it myself.

Selling both online and at our studio on London’s New Kings Road, I wanted to allow people to discover a wide range of items from smaller gifts, wellbeing, books and tableware to furniture, artwork, rugs and lighting, all under one roof.

Our customer tends to be someone who seeks out unique and one of a kind items, items that they won’t find in their friend’s houses, items that have a story and have been lovingly restored or hand-crafted.

How do you balance running the shop as well as looking after your interior design clients? Is there a crossover of business from one to the other? The two businesses really do work hand in hand, the craftsmen we work with on interior design projects may create products to sell instore and artisans that we discover for the shop we then use for interior design projects. Every week is so varied and I am constantly pushing myself to make sure both businesses are thriving but ultimately I love what I do which helps to provide the motivation.

We have started noticing that some customers who visit the store have started asking for interior design help within their own homes to create a similar aesthetic which is a lovely marriage between the two.

What is your favourite item in the shop? I spend a great deal of time hand-sourcing each and every item so I would really struggle to choose one favourite! I especially love the pair of Gypsy Chairs, lovingly restored and reupholstered using re-purposed linen from an ND Studios project and we’ve even re-used the original studs. They are unique, unusual and the perfect example of how we take antique items and bring them a new lease of life.

I also have a soft spot for the beautifully hand-crafted brass pens and pencils, designed and created by master joiner and close friend based in Notting Hill using scrap metals so nothing goes to waste. Each is completely unique and every pen has its own matching wooden case held shut with a clever use of magnets.