At Home with Nicky Chance-Thompson CEO of The Piece Hall

How would you describe your home? We live in a large, beautiful Victorian house which is a bit like the Forth Bridge in that it is a constant project. We inherited the house from my husband’s mother. Much of it has remained unchanged over the years and is utterly fascinating to me. Many of the original features are still in place. The previous owner added Art Deco aspects so it’s quite an eclectic mix of styles. The house holds many fond memories for my husband, and we have kept many pieces of furniture and mementoes, adding our own style in terms of décor, art and modern pieces.

I really like mixing up the old and the new. We both love art, music and sculpture and our favourite places to escape are Venice, New York and Norfolk so there are lots of pictures and objects from our travels. We also appear to have a whole British Library of books as we both hate parting with any. We have two lurchers and a cat, and we recognise our place in the family pecking order and that’s not at the top. Our house is very pet friendly as well as people friendly and so it isn’t always beautifully styled. As I have got older I have got more comfortable with that.

Which household items could you not live without? Our art, books, record player and records and washing machine and dishwasher.

What is on your interiors wish list? Our list is endless but wooden flooring, a new kitchen and some new lighting. I would also like to create an Italian walled garden in our yard as it would remind me of Venice and Italy.

What is your favourite building? It has to be the Piece Hall. It is so magnificent, the very best in Georgian architecture. Every time I bring someone new to visit it, they are absolutely blown away. There literally is nothing in the world like it, though it often draws many comparisons to St Mark’s Square in Venice and other famous piazzas around the world. The people of Halifax are very rightly proud of their Piece Hall.

Is there anything exciting you at the moment in terms of design? I really like the fact that homes are now so different and not uniform as they were in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s great that people can put their personal style and identity into their homes as there is so much choice. I love buying vintage finds, and Al’s Emporium in the Piece Hall and Lord & Lord in Halifax are really great places for finding very cool pieces of furniture and one off items. I really like the return to simple design and investment in stylish well-made pieces that stand the test of time. I have always loathed the throw away society.

What and where is your ideal home? I have two dreams. One is a very grand palazzo in Venice overlooking the grand canal, the other is a grand designs type house by the sea, surrounded by countryside. I love the sea.

What are you most proud of? I am most proud of being the Chief Caretaker of The Piece Hall, a building that is now in my heart and DNA forever. I never take for granted the feeling I get from coming into work in this beautiful space every day and watching and hearing the joy and delight it gives people who work and visit here. I love people coming to events and concerts and the Elbow concert is a stand out for me. I also love hearing children play in the fountains. The Piece Hall is best when it is alive with people. I really miss this vibrancy in lockdown and it makes my heart sing every time we re-open. I am consistently proud of my team who all equally love this place and look after it so well.

*Contact: The Piece Hall, Halifax, www.thepiecehall.co.uk