Today on Design Hunter we visit the warm and considered home of India and Magnus, the creative couple behind Haarkon. India is a photographer whose quiet, thoughtful images I’ve admired for years. As I’ve been exploring photography myself recently, I’ve grown to appreciate how she finds beauty in ordinary moments and everyday corners. When I spotted photographs of their apartment on Haarkon, I was keen to share their space here—and I’m delighted they agreed to let us in.
Their ground-floor one-bedroom apartment, set in a 1970s development in southern Sheffield, mirrors the aesthetic of their blog and shop: understated travel notes and real-life interiors that feel lived-in and authentic. The apartment acts as a calm backdrop for their shared passion: plants. Large windows and a generous living area create an ideal setting for an indoor urban garden that is as much about care and observation as it is decoration.
“Plants play a large part in our lives,” India explains. “They bring vitality to a room and offer a kind of companionship. We enjoy learning their habits and listening to what they need. Keeping plants requires responsiveness and problem solving, but also common sense—thinking about each plant’s natural habitat and trying to recreate those conditions at home.”
They don’t single out a favourite, yet the tall umbrella plant (Schefflera) holds a special place. It was their first big plant purchase and, over time, has become a prominent presence in the apartment. Now more than seven feet tall, it regularly produces new shoots and anchors the room with its sculptural form.
The apartment sits amid trees and beside a river, and those views are an ever-present part of daily life. “We can hear the river and the birds all day,” India says, “and over the eight months we’ve lived here those sounds have become part of our sense of home.” Though they moved from a tiny city-centre flat, the new space—still a one-bedroom—feels much larger, almost like stepping into a small village hall rather than a compact living room. This extra roominess allows them to breathe and to arrange plants, furniture and personal objects with more ease.
One of the apartment’s standout features is the living room’s expansive windows. They occupy an entire wall and create a constant connection to the outside. The view beyond the sofa shifts with the seasons and the weather, offering a kind of living artwork that changes day by day. For India and Magnus, those windows are central to the apartment’s atmosphere and to the way they experience light and texture in their home.
Beyond plants, the couple collect objects that reflect their tastes: functional, simple, and honest. They are both fans of whisky and have assembled a small and growing collection of malts. For them, whisky is a sensory, contemplative pleasure—part craft, part story—and they hope to explore it further one day. A tour of distilleries and deeper immersion in the nuances of different regions is on their wish list.
Their bedside lamps are repurposed factory lights discovered in a vintage shop. Originally designed to hang bulb-side down over a factory floor, these shades now serve as atmospheric bedroom lighting after being fitted with modern LED bulbs. The couple likes to preserve the character of such finds while adapting them for comfortable daily use—an approach that speaks to their respect for objects with history.
A distinctive wall clock in the living room was a gift from Magnus’s parents. It’s an industrial-style Master clock that would once have coordinated time across a factory, and its typeface—especially the elegant forms of the numerals—appeals to their taste for clean, functional design. The clock is both a sentimental object and a design piece that fits their pared-back aesthetic.
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Thank you to India and Magnus for giving us a glimpse into their beautiful home. Their apartment is a thoughtful blend of natural light, collected objects and abundant greenery—an urban oasis that feels personal and calm.
For more inspiration from the same aesthetic, explore the Haarkon blog or follow Haarkon’s Instagram account. India also shares her photography on her personal Instagram, where her delicate handling of light and colour brings everyday scenes to life in a soft, natural palette.
All images courtesy of Haarkon.