Designed to Heal

Showrooms from Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour are contributing to a charity scheme that aims to create room makeover ‘havens’ for accredited NHS key workers who have been on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic. Interior designer Francesca Rowan Plowden initiated Design Havens for Heroes in a bid to thank NHS staff for their selfless fight against Covid-19,

Inspired to create an oasis of calm in the homes of those dealing with the emotional and physical demands of tackling the pandemic, Rowan Plowden called on her contacts to participate, from interior designers to top suppliers, skilled makers and tradesmen. In a show of unity, the responses snowballed in, and very swiftly she had formed an ever-growing collective of industry leaders willing to donate their time, skills, experience and products to the cause. Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour showrooms Sanderson, Ventura and Colefax and Fowler are all lending their support, as is Edward Bulmer Natural Paint (pictured above left; available at Tissus d’Hélène), while Nina Campbell (whose products are pictured top right) is one of the charity’s ambassadors.

From the broad portfolio of industry expertise and leadership within the collective, Rowan-Plowden is continuing to harness this community spirit, working to establish teams who will come together to create these ‘havens’ for the frontline NHS heroes.

Visit the Design Haven for Heroes website if you are a designer wanting to volunteer your services, a brand looking to donate products, or if you would like to nominate a deserving NHS worker. The charity team are assessing all the nominations so that they can hit the ground running in partnership with their allocated NHS worker, interior designer and brands, as soon as restrictions are lifted.