Meet the designer with royal approval
As Nina Campbell turns 70, she shares her design (and Instagram) secrets
HoMe interiors designer Nina Campbell might be turning 70 tomorrow, but she has no intention of putting her feet up on one of her elegantly upholstered chairs.
Right now, she is too busy beautifying homes around the world, collaborating with all sorts of designers and overseeing her new furniture shop in London’s Chelsea Harbour.
Nina, who lives in Chelsea with her two Shih Tzus, Archie and Theo, in a light, bright converted studio, once home to sculptor Frank Dobson, says her work is ‘ so much fun’ — and you can understand why.
She numbers British and Jordanian royalty among her clients.
In fact, one of her first commissions was the Duke and Duchess of York’s new-build marital home (now derelict), Sunninghill Park in Berkshire, and she is responsible for the look of some of London’s smartest bars and hotels, including the nightclub Annabel’s and the Connaught hotel.
Her wallpaper and fabric range has been sold by interiors store osborne & Little since 1989.
Nina wouldn’t describe any of her clients as difficult. The joy of her job, she says, is discovering what they want and need from a space, rather than imposing her own style.
Being good with people comes with the territory. And Nina, in her signature heart shaped glasses, is immensely likeable. She was born the day World War II ended and has vivid memories of her childhood home.
‘The nursery had pale blue walls with a blue linoleum floor and curtains in cheering yellow.’ She recalls her mother buying a bolt of fabric and dying it saffron. ‘We didn’t have lots of things, but someone came to polish that linoleum floor everyday.’
Aged seven, she chose grey and white toile depicting couples playing tennis from Cole & Son on Mortimer Street, London, for her bedroom curtains.
Good taste clearly came naturally.
NoW, she turns to Instagram for inspiration ( and pictures from fellow Shih Tzu owners) as well as great coffee table tomes, and travels widely. ‘India is one of the most inspirational places in the world.’
Shipping costs, she admits, are astronomical. Her very wide, shiny sitting room fireplace, in Art Deco style, sailed over from New York’s Atlantic Avenue.
Though she has plenty of recommendations for shopping in the UK. Tetbury in Gloucestershire is a particu- lar favourite, especially the antique shops Lorfords ( lorfords antiques.com) and Philip Adler ( philipadler
antiques.com). She adores the V&A (she was a patron for eight years), and Sir John Soane’s Museum and cites Chiswick House as a good place to go for interior ideas.
When it comes to defining her own style, she won’t be pinned down — but judging by her home, she is the master of maximising space and light, weaving bold prints and rich colours into a perfectly balanced scheme.
Pale floor-length curtains with a delicately embroidered Chinese design in a fabric called Cathay Parade, inspired by antique fabric bought at Christie’s, welcome the sunshine. The modest-sized sofa is upholstered in a tactile fabric called Bintan Weave from the Cathay Parade Collection. Nina does not like enormous sofas as they can dominate a space, becoming, as she puts it, ‘ the elephant in the room’.
Texture is a theme, from the fabric covered walls (which are good sound insulators) to the velvety armchairs in a rich red leaf pattern called Lizong. Intricate objects and ceramics by the artist Kate Malone add interest and old favourites — a wall light from Guinevere Antiques on the King’s Road and her grandmother’s dining chairs — inject character.
Not everything is expensive or antique. Nina is a fan of U.S. store Anthropologie and serves tea in its elaborately patterned cups. She recommends using vibrant Indian sari fabric to fashion exotic tablecloths.
This clever combination of High Street and high-end is part of her success.
Her homewares, which are sold across the globe, cater for all budgets.
While her shop in Knightsbridge attracts well-heeled customers, Nina has designed less expensive pieces for made.com — the Leila dressing table with its neat foldaway mirror, turning it from a desk into a make-up station. Who would she love to work with next? ‘The flamboyant and fun potter Grayson Perry,’ she says. Wouldn’t that be a fabulously colourful combination?