Nina Campbell: design matters

Interior design doyenne Nina Campbell talks to Shannon Denny about working globally and living locally

When I speak to Nina Campbell she's preparing to board a flight bound for the US for a photo shoot. "Traditional Home is a magazine in America, and it's made me an 'icon', which is rather sweet, so I'm going off with the other icons to meet up in Las Vegas!" she laughs.
Her work as an iconic interior designer keeps her constantly on the move, but nevertheless she's a lifelong Londoner who is truly in love with her city. "I've always lived in SW - SW1, SW3, SW7 or SW10 - from my childhood." Campbell's mother, a Viennese refugee, had a penchant for new addresses, and this she says laid the foundations for her future career. "I grew up sort of moving furniture with my mother - we moved house quite a lot."
At the age of 19 she went to work as an assistant to John Fowler at the prestigious design firm Colefax & Fowler. "It was wonderful. And then I set up on my own.
I just thought I'd better because then no one can ever get rid of you! I thought that was quite a sharp move," she reveals with a grin.
With her unmistakably elegant and rich colour palette, Campbell's work caught the eye of club owner Mark Birley, who asked her to redecorate Annabel's private members' club. Business boomed, and her residential clients have ranged from the Duke and Duchess of York to The Queen of Denmark to Rod Stewart. High profile commercial projects over the years have included The Savoy Lobby, The Hotel Parc Victor Hugo in Paris, The Groucho Club in London and The Campbell Apartment Bar at Grand Central Station.
Campbell's showroom and design studio opened on Walton Street in 1984, where in addition to decorating projects and fabric printing, she branched out into other areas including table linen, china, glassware, home fragrance, gift wrap, cashmere throws and travel accessories. In 1990, she launched the first of what was to become a biannual fabric, wallpaper and trimming collection distributed internationally by Osborne & Little.
As well as appearing on the BBC series Home, she has authored five books on design. Her latest range of furniture is launching at Decorex this month and a collaboration with Stark Carpets will be unleashed early next year. She's also just finished reworking her signature 'hearts' design on fabric and china.
With such a non-stop schedule, Campbell maintains there's no place like home. "I've been in my current house for about five years," she tells me, "and I must say I'm very happy with it. It's very hidden and very secret - you wouldn't know from the outside that it's even a house. I think that's what really attracted me to it. And then you go inside and it's like Tardis. It opens up and I've got two courtyard gardens with lemon trees." It's a beautiful light-filled set-up ideal for entertaining, and it's a situation that suits her plants and two dogs too.
"I like the area because I like the shops and for me it's a good neighbourhood," the Fulham resident continues. Well known for her good taste as well as her abilities as a shopper, she opens up her address book to share a short list of local favourite spots.
She's not a keen cook, so Campbell relies heavily on "an amazing butcher", Wyndham House. "You can easily just totter along there and put a dinner together." Le Pascalou is another frequent stop - "like going to a French market." Also nearby is "unfortunately a baby clothes shop - I've just had one and I'm expecting my next grandchild. I'm drawn in like a drug!"
She plans to be around for the arrival of the latest addition to the family, but otherwise her autumn schedule is packed with travel. She'll visit San Francisco and Scotland for fun, and also work on two huge residential projects in Jordan and China.
"We went to China and walked into a restaurant, completely forgetting that we wouldn't be able to order a thing because nobody spoke a word of Chinese and they didn't speak a word of English. We ended up with this extraordinary dish in the middle of the table which was chicken - only because I'd clucked at the woman and she'd obviously realised I was asking if they had a chicken dish. But what we didn't bargain for was a dish with the feet of chicken sticking out of it, which was completely revolting. One does have to take precautions when travelling!" she giggles candidly.
Her speech is decidedly Queen's English and her contact book is filled with international jet setters, but Nina Campbell is warm, witty and completely lacking in affectation. London is I think fortunate to be able to claim her as its own. What is it about the capital that keeps her so devoted? "The mix of people for a start," she answers instantly. "This funny little island is sort of the pivot. It does seem that everybody comes here. We have a real melting pot. That's what I think is magic about London, and I hope that never changes."

9 Walton Street, London SW3 2JD

Members Comments

There are no comments for this article.

Add a Comment

Please log in to post a comment.