evolution not revolution
Interior designer Anna Campbell-Jones has been through many phases with her stunning Glasgow flat, each building on the last, finds Nichola Hunter
The hallway was so amazing I didn’t need to see any other rooms
‘The concept of home is something that resonates with every human being on the planet,’ says Anna Campbell-Jones. ‘That idea of having somewhere to feel safe and somewhere you’re able to express yourself and know who you are.’ Anna has been expressing herself through her fourbedroom, ground floor flat in Glasgow for nearly 20 years and it has had many evolutions.
‘I moved up here from London with my then husband and quite literally a baby on my hip. It was a particularly difficult time to buy in Glasgow. Everything was going to closing dates and selling for silly amounts and then we found this.
‘We entered the building and asked the estate agent which of the doors led to the flat and he replied, “you’re in the flat”. The hallway was so massive we didn’t realise it was part of the property. At that point I realised I didn’t need to see any of the other rooms as the hallway was so amazing.’
The downside was that the flat had been on fire and was quite significantly damaged. ‘It was a shell and it was a big job to make it habitable on a limited budget. However, it was a good way for me to get to know tradespeople in Scotland.’
With windows hanging off, dead pigeons on the floor and no kitchen or bathroom, it wasn’t really a gradual design process – everything had to be done at once and along the way there were some interesting finds.
‘The windows had to be refurbished and in the process of doing that we found that all the original shutters were still there, albeit nailed up and painted over, so we got them working.
‘The master bedroom was covered in slightly charred woodchip which had been painted over to sell. I asked the decorators to remove the woodchip and paint all the walls white.
‘Fortunately, the decorator phoned me half way through the job and said, “I think you’ll want to come and have a look, you won’t want me to paint over this”. He’d discovered an original stencil frieze under the woodchip. It was an amazing find as this flat didn’t have any original fireplaces or many ornamental features. It had the shutters and some cornicing, so this was a real treat.’
As the carpets had already been removed due to the fire, Anna had all the floors sanded and painted black and aside from the master bedroom’s frieze, painted all the walls white. One thing that Anna did splash out on is the stunning canvas in the living room which is by Welsh artist Sue Williams.
‘I saw it in an exhibition when I was living in London and it’s massive. It was too tall for the flat in London, so I never bought it. When we moved up here and realised we had a ceiling height of 3.5 metres, I phoned Sue and asked if she still had the painting and she did. It was the first nice thing that we did for the flat that wasn’t plumbing or repairs.’
After 20 years in the property and Anna’s magpie tendencies, the flat is now full of character and
stories. ‘I’ve accumulated lots of pieces to fill the place, mainly from skips, charity shops, antique places or the family throwing things out. I think longevity is important; you can buy a dining table and have that table forever.’
The kitchen also had to tick the boxes when it came to longevity, so Anna chose the practical choice – stainless steel.
‘In my home with two teenage boys, the kitchen is where all the action is and it’s very much a kitchen that is about food. I used to design commercial interiors and I did a lot of catering kitchens for restaurants in Soho.
‘I was familiar with stainless steel being really brilliant, hygienic and functional and if you don’t mind it scratching, which I don’t, it’s a great work surface. I know it looks rather industrial, but I wanted that catering kitchen feel. I only painted the kitchen green relatively recently. I like the idea of having some mad colours in the kitchen, it makes me happy.
‘People are often quite conservative about what colours they use, and they shouldn’t be.’
Indeed, Anna still gets butterflies when she walks past the Farrow & Ball wallpaper she recently hung in the bedroom, and she’s very excited about her bathroom which has just been completed. ‘I always like the thing best that I’ve most recently done,’ she says. ‘The bathroom is my new favourite as the tile trim is powder coated in bright red to contrast with dark grey tiles. It’s very early 90s and very me.
‘What I think is nice isn’t to everyone’s taste because design is subjective. My kitchen is painted green; I have orange taps.
‘As an interior designer, I’m wary of the idea that I should have a specific “look”, especially as I don’t really design for myself; I design for other people. When it’s my own home I don’t get too scientific. I trust that if that’s what I feel like doing it’ll work, and I haven’t disliked anything I’ve done so far.’
What I think is nice isn’t to everyone’s taste: my kitchen is green and I have orange taps