This Tuscan Villa Is a Blueprint for Balancing Quiet Corners With Hosting Zones

Designer Nicola Harding makes space for both.

By Kristen Flanagan, Photography by William Jess Laird

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Teal and rust room with dining table
The dining room is an intimate setting with a warming henna-colored ceiling and teal grasscloth wall coverings.

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In Homing Instinct, designer Nicola Harding pulls back the curtain on the layered, lived-in spaces she’s known for—rooms where a bold paint color can feel as cozy as a quilt, antiques sit happily alongside flea-market finds, and every corner is designed with both beauty and life in mind. The book is as much about mood as it is about materials, offering a blueprint for how to create homes that feel soulful rather than staged. One of its most transportive chapters takes us to a historic Tuscan villa, where an American-Italian couple wanted a second home that could toggle between quiet family time and full-blown entertaining. Harding’s answer? A house that embraces both: equal parts sanctuary and stage, with craftsmanship and character at every turn. Read on to hear about this project in Harding’s own words.

Exterior of a villa with rattan loungers on a patio
The house, built in the 1800s, was originally a farmhouse, and the family retreat has far-reaching views across the Tuscan countryside.

The wonderful owners of this historic Tuscan villa mainly live in New York—she is American and he is Italian—and they wanted this, their second home, to be a place where they could flex between relaxed family moments with their two children and generous entertaining.

It was originally built in the 1800s as a farmhouse alongside farm buildings, so we had to reimagine it for modern family life. He is very sociable and loves cooking, and so they needed space for that, but with hardworking yet handsome back-of-house areas where the detritus could be squirrelled away. While she enjoys company, she wanted to be able to have quieter moments, so we devised a way to cater for both of these strong instincts.

With its four bedrooms, the main house was kept as more of a family space. We created a sacred sanctum around the couple’s bedroom, which included its own living room. Then we converted two outbuildings into guest cottages and designed a new pool house in the olive grove. The female client is fascinated by English design, while he is appreciative of craft and workmanship, so to source the furniture we made trips to antique fairs and dealers, both in the UK and Europe. We also found an incredible rattan maker in Rome and an amazing local cabinetmaker who we worked with on much of the joinery.

Entrance hall with blue door and patterned settee
The settee seating and wall-mounted table are antiques we unearthed on one of our fabulous foraging adventures. The door curtain is both decorative and practical, retaining warmth while creating an intimate space.

We used a lot of fresco, a limewash paint finish, as it helps to soften the light, which can be harsh at the height of summer. The overall palette was inspired by the colors that are abundant in the local landscape, which I deployed to different corners of the house according to how I wanted each space to feel. To create a feeling of cosiness in the TV room, for instance, we brought in rich, deep tones of red and plum that are found in the pomegranate trees in the garden. The blue-tinged green zellige tiles in one of the guest cottages are reminiscent of glaucous, aromatic Mediterranean herbs such as lavender and sage, or the color of olive tree leaves.

It was a wonderful project for many reasons—not least the boundless energy and enthusiasm of the clients, the relentlessly delicious food, and the rich tapestry of colors from which to take inspiration in the surrounding countryside.

Living room with stucco walls and upholstered chairs and sofas
In the drawing room, the wall is lined with decorative plates discovered at an antique fair.
Kitchen with zelliege tile and central island
A back-of-house kitchen takes the pressure off the main one, meaning that it can stay small and intimate. This makes a happy home for all the baking paraphernalia and serving wear that the family love to have but do not want to look at. It was made by local maker Homewood.
Floral wallpapered powder room with green marble vanity
In this cloakroom, the ‘Palampore Blossom’ wallpaper is from Soane, while the green marble sink with splashback is bespoke, made by a brilliant local stone supplier.
Guest room with red four poster bed
Four-poster beds are a wonderful way of adding drama and a sense of occasion to a space, and it is surprising how well they work in a small room. In a heartbeat they transform an underwhelming space into a spectacular one.
Primary bedroom with adjacent sitting room
The couple’s bedroom is part of a principal suite that also comprises a private living room with a television and a writing desk, and a bathroom. 
Primary bathroom with zellige tile floors and walls and white soaking tub
In the primary bath, the handmade zellige tiles have a romantic unevenness to their glaze.
Guest bedroom with green walls and peach bed
The vintage bamboo table works well between the twin beds, useful as both a writing desk and dressing table.
Pool and lounge area
A secluded outside pool allows the family to relax in privacy.

Excerpted with permission from Homing Instinct by Nicola Harding © 2025. Published by Rizzoli.