At Home on the Peninsula with Harriet Kingdon
Harriet Kingdon is living in something of an urban jungle. Or that is what one of her friends told her, when they visited Kingdon at her unexpectedly verdant Lower Riverside apartment on Greenwich Peninsula.
“I really like indoor plants,” she admits, “it has got a little bit out of control. Even now it’s really quite wild out on the balcony. I just need to remember to water them, otherwise they really aren’t going to survive.”
Thankfully, the wildlife at her and husband Rob’s place stands in marked contrast to the very ordered world that lies immediately beyond her front door. Kingdon is a theatrical agent, working in the West End of London for Olivia Bell Management, a company that has placed actors in Netflix dramas such as Top Boy, terrestrial TV shows such as the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, and on the capital’s stages, in productions such as Hamilton. Enjoyed the young British actor Thomas Doherty in the Sky/HBO mini-series Catherine the Great? Then you have Kingdon and her colleagues to thank.
"From here, I can get on the Jubilee Line, and I am in Soho in a few minutes."
“As part of my job, I have to see a lot of theatre,” she says. “That means I end up coming home late at night.” A few years ago, back when she lived beside Wandsworth Common, those long, dark walks home were the source of some anxiety for Kingdon, as the streets in her part of south London weren’t especially well illuminated or welcoming. Now, thanks to the Peninsula’s layout, any nocturnal trip from North Greenwich underground station to her door is a far less stressful experience. “There is just one, straight path,” she explains. “It’s really well lit. I like living in a place where they’ve thought about things like this.”
“"I really like indoor plants, it has got a little bit out of control. Even now it’s really quite wild out on the balcony. I just need to remember to water them, otherwise they really aren’t going to survive."”
Kingdon moved into Greenwich Peninsula four years ago as a first-time buyer and has grown to appreciate the area’s sense of community (“We went for a drink with one of our neighbours in the Pilot pub recently”) as well as its proximity to the river, and its design aesthetic. She and her partner have kept the decor in her home relatively neutral with pieces partly inspired by the minimal, monochrome look of her wedding, which took place earlier this year – to give her property a look unique to them. In all, it’s a handsome, well-ordered and hopefully well-watered bower of contemporary, urban domesticity. Yet, given the Peninsula’s transport connections, Kingdon is never far from work, or the wilder reaches of the city. “From here, I can get on the Jubilee Line, and I am in Soho in a few minutes,” she says.
