Along with her husband John, Natasha Lyon is the founder of Appreciation Project, a new business selling wonderfully colourful dried flower arrangements. Formerly a handbag designer for Burberry and Victoria Beckham, the pandemic pushed a leap of faith from her role as head of accessories for Acne Studios into launching Appreciation Project in September 2020. But fresh starts for the Lyons aren’t scary: two years ago they swapped Hackney for Margate. Attracted by the slower pace of coastal life, they have had fun injecting colour into their new home. Carry on reading to discover how they did it.

Under the carpeted entrance Natasha discovered original finger-block flooring

Home Stories: Margate is very different to Clapton, how have you found the adjustment?
Natasha: It was quite a bold move to be honest. We didn’t know much about the area at all before visiting on weekends and we always came away loving it. We kept flipping between here and Ramsgate but finally settled on Margate. Obviously there’s the narrative in the press about it being ‘Shoreditch-on-Sea’ and we’re known as DfLs (those ‘Down from London’) but people are super-friendly, both those who have lived here all their lives and those who have just moved in. We were at a point where we’d worked really hard and wanted to let off steam - London seemed to be really taking it out of us. Plus we had two children in the mix and navigating the Tube with a double buggy wasn’t much fun! Usually there is so much going on and a nice atmosphere. We thought we’d have regrets but bizarrely there’s been none.

The wicker elephant is from nearby Vantage Living. The walls are a mix of Hague Blue and De Nimes by Farrow & Ball

What appealed about this particular house?
Natasha: We were blown away by the original features. At the first viewing we were immediately in love with the size of the front door - it’s so wide! Then we ended up doing a forensic analysis of the house on RightMove and it showed there was probably finger block parquet under all the carpets… I love the craftsmanship of wooden flooring and so we took the carpets up immediately. But getting our hands on the place took a long time…

Natasha found the stair runner in Paraphernalia Vintage in Margate

Oh no, what’s the story there?
Natasha: Because of the Brexit vote we lost our buyers five times, and it fell through a couple of times here. But we always found a way to get back into the chain again. The day of the move was so stressful, NatWest went down and so funds for most of us in the chain couldn’t be transferred… we left London not knowing if we’d even be able to get in! But 40 mins before arriving the transfer happened and it was a long night of moving. It was all quite mad - we’re going to stay here a long time purely because of that!

One of Appreciation Project’s striking dried flower displays

Crikey, that’s stressful. But here you are now in what can only be described as a kaleidoscopic home…
Natasha: Yes, our previous house was quite black and white and grey, and this was a great canvas to play around with. I knew I wanted it to be really colourful and full of energy and life and vibrant and I didn’t really want anything white.. I lost that battle in the kitchen though!

The sitting room is painted in Setting Plaster by Farrow & Ball

Every room is a different colour, how did you approach picking shades?
Natasha: It was quite intentional that they would all be different colours and I spent a lot of time standing in the hallway looking at how they would look next to each other. John really wanted our bedroom and our front lounge to be very dark and we found that that Myland’s Borough Market worked really well. Because those spaces are big and have such high ceilings, they can really take the dark colour and they’ve also worked out really well for photographing flower arrangements too! To me that’s what a neutral is - these dark colours work because anything you want to put around them against the room just seems to work.

The main bathroom walls are Brighton by Little Greene

Do you have any tips for anyone wanting to be bolder with colour?
Natasha: It sounds obvious but I’d really advise using paint samples. I really did my homework and spent a lot of time (and money!) checking the paint colours, seeing how they worked together and how they looked on different walls and in different lights. That really gave me the confidence and conviction everytime I said to the decorator: ‘Let’s go for it!’.

Any colour catastrophes along the way?
Natasha: No actually… once I’d made up my mind we just went for it, though it did start to look like a set for Elmer the Elephant when I was playing around with all the tester pots. We had a brilliant decorator (Daniel Turner Painting & Decor) who single-handedly did the entire place, otherwise we’d have never got around to it ourselves. I think I terrified him because he was used to painting houses white or grey and every time I’d show him the colour for the next room he’d have nightmares that I was going to change my mind and hate it and make him re-do it, but I never did.

The kitchen units are painted Olive Green by Little Greene

Tell us about creating your green kitchen…
Natasha: John is the cook in our house so that was really his space. We’ve had some cupboard-like kitchens over the years so it was finally his chance to have it decked out as he wanted. I spent a lot of time researching kitchen companies as I really wanted us to be able to have design input and it not be generic. I stumbled across a local joinery Moosejaw Woodworks, who do the woodwork displays at the Turner Gallery here in Margate. I showed them an image we had and they were brilliant - they made it quickly and in their workshop, which I loved visiting.

I love your book-filled dining area too...
Natasha: Thanks! We bought the Ladderax shelves quite in advance of moving in and I love how it really pulls that room together because you’ve got the open gaps which makes it light. And I finally had a space for all my books!

The guest bedroom is painted in Stone Blue by Farrow & Ball

Where do you look for inspiration?
Natasha: I’m always looking at imagery, whether it’s my books, Instagram, Pinterest or magazines. They sit in my head and something slowly forms. Because of my job as a handbag designer I travelled quite extensively so I took a lot of inspiration from hotels abroad or department stores. I adore Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm with all the Josef Frank fabrics and the way it’s done, that hugely inspired my input on the house. Locally, the Rose in Deal is such a beautiful place. Our house is certainly quite eclectic in that there’s not one common theme.

Daft question, but what do you like to collect?
Natasha: John would say I collect cushions because I seem to have hundreds of them around the house! Christina Lundsteen is my favourite designer. I also love vintage Murano striped glass, and textiles. Whether it’s a blanket or vintage embroideries or wall hangings, anything that has a tactile, colourful element seems to dominate the house.

The master bedroom is adorned in Borough Market by Mylands

Where do you like to shop?
Natasha: I buy quite a lot from eBay - I enjoy a good trawl through. Since moving here, I’ve bought a few things from my friend who runs Vantage Living and the Instagram account Albie & Pearl. I used to love going into Liberty and looking at everything and online I really rate Matches, their homewares edit is really beautiful. Since I discovered that Svenskt Tenn delivers to the UK, I’ve treated myself to a few bits and bobs over time.

A view into Natasha’s dressing room, which is painted entirely in Blush by Little Greene - from floor to ceiling

What’s your favourite room?
Natasha: I really love our bedroom, because it’s got the bath in the bag window. I adore being in the bath and the kids leave me alone! My dressing room next door feels like my sanctuary. I imagined a pink box so I asked the decorator to paint the entire room - the floor, ceiling, fireplace… everything!

Their daughter’s room is painted in Little Greene’s Yellow-Pink

What are your future plans for Appreciation Project?
Natasha: Coming from a design background, I’m always full of ideas so I’d really like to develop into homewares. I’d love to do a vase, something quite different to what’s out there currently. And more tabletop bits, cushions too… hopefully we’ll get to!