Nina Campbell combines comfort and calm in this harmonious bedroom scheme. Amelia Thorpe takes a closer look.
Classic English elegance may be the hallmark of an interior by Nina Campbell — but so too is superb comfort, as this bedroom in a Knightsbridge town house suggests.
Nina’s starting point was to line the walls in a specially woven chocolate damask, which helps to absorb sound. ‘Fabric introduces a sense of quietness and luxury,’ she explains, ‘and neither paint nor wallpaper gives that same richness of colour.’ The fabric disguises a door to the bathroom, beyond the bed, and is balanced by off-white painted walls below the dado rail.
The fabric also serves as a sumptuous backdrop to a combination of gentle textures in white, off-white and china blue. Soft cashmere curtains are trimmed in embroidery from Holland & Sherry (www.hollandandsherry.com), the armchair upholstered in chenille and the bed dressed in crisp white linen. ‘The mood is calm,’ notes Nina.
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To create the background lighting, Nina specified small bedside lamps, a floor lamp and a pair of wall lights from Soane Britain (www.soane.co.uk). Lights on flexible arms, mounted behind the headboard, are for reading in bed.
It may be tranquil, but there’s interest, too — from the antiquarian maps that hang on the walls to the 1950s side table and the marble fireplace with brass slips, dating from about 1870 and chosen to suit the age of the property.
‘The excitement in a room is when there’s a combination of things: some new, some that have been in the family for ages and some unusual finds,’ says Nina. ‘A clever mix also brings a classic look up to date; it may be more difficult than buying everything from a catalogue, but it’s much more interesting.’
‘Nina Campbell Interior Decoration: Elegance and Ease’ by Giles Kime (Rizzoli New York, £45)
