Inside Harald Donoghue's small flat, imperfections get to stay
The Sunday Times Style's fast-starting home tour finds silver walls, painted magpies and clever window dressing in a one-bedroom London apartment.
The Sunday Times Style
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 50,950 views a day, 15 times a normal first day on this channel (3,451).
How Harald Donoghue Made His Small One-Bed Flat Feel Grand and Luxurious
Video summary
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- 0:41The bedroom's hand-painted wallpaper depicts wisteria branches and birds on dyed silk.
- 2:01The pinwheel hallway combines rescued silver-gilded paper with photo montages inspired by Warhol's Factory.
- 3:26Donoghue shows how an oversized stove and patterned fabric skirts fit into the compact kitchen.
- 5:07The sitting-room wallpaper includes magpies painted in by a colleague.
- 6:31Striped valances and pelmets help visually balance the high, uneven ceilings.
- 7:15Custom bookshelves are finished with decorative pediments.
Harald Donoghue has magpies painted into his sitting-room wallpaper, but a real bird would be another matter: they slightly terrify him. It's a revealing detail in a home tour where carefully chosen decoration comes with a willingness not to take everything too seriously.
His north London apartment has drawn about 39,000 views in fourteen hours on The Sunday Times Style, already far beyond the channel's usual first-day audience. Viewers are picking out the added birds, striped curtains and decorative bows on the bookshelves, as well as his way of telling the stories behind the rooms.
Donoghue works for hand-painted wallpaper company de Gournay, and the walls are central to how he has furnished the small Canonbury flat. Wisteria branches and birds spread across dyed silk in the bedroom. Rescued silver-gilded paper lines the hallway, alongside photo montages inspired by Andy Warhol's Factory.
But the tour isn't simply a case for covering everything in something precious. Donoghue makes room for knocked corners and lived-in imperfections. The description explains that he left ceilings and baseboards unpainted rather than making every surface look freshly finished.
There are practical decisions among the decorative ones. Striped valances and pelmets help balance the sitting room's high, uneven ceilings. The compact kitchen accommodates an oversized stove and patterned fabric skirts, despite Donoghue's suspicion that the room was never originally a kitchen.
Above the bed hangs a Georgian portrait inherited from his parents. He describes its sitter as a benevolent presence looking down on him: another old thing allowed to keep its place.
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What viewers say
I love the idea of adding the magpies to the wallpaper, the striped curtains and the bows on the bookcases, and of course, everything else. What a lovely, warm home!
@avivat3010See it on YouTubeHarald's storytelling style is clever, pairing perfectly with his well-considered flat. 💫
@eyesee2026See it on YouTubeImperfectly perfect and thanks for some books recommendations LOL.
@andgo1400See it on YouTube
4 more comments
The English have a way of making incredibly cluttered and busy small spaces feel welcoming and wonderful, and not just a cramped mess. The quality of the wallpaper stands out here, adding a wonderful soft sheen and painterly backdrop that still lets the eye rest, somehow. Thank you for sharing your space.
@janelteSee it on YouTubeStunning home and I adore the way you describe the way you have assembled it. 😍
@M15GuysSee it on YouTubeI have never heard the term “pinwheel hallway.”
This gentleman does seem like he is from Narnia.@RobertCampbell-y9eSee it on YouTubeAn enchanted jewel box of a flat. Bravo Harald !!
@CarolCampbell-e4wSee it on YouTube
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- Channel
- The Sunday Times Style
- Subscribers
- 220,000 ▲ 1,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 243,101
- Channel views, pace per day
- 24,870 (on a normal day: 37,774)
- Video published
- October 18, 2026
- Video views so far
- 38,945 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 50,950
The numbers
Donoghue's tour has already drawn substantially more views than a usual full first day for the channel. Its comment section is also much busier than usual.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which flowering plant appears on Donoghue's bedroom wallpaper?
The bedroom's de Gournay Alba wallpaper depicts wisteria branches and birds on dyed silk.