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TASTEMAKERTEMAKER
T A S 2 3

THE DOS AND
DON’TS OF
1 DECORATING,
ACCORDING TO

Nina Campbell

The interior designer is known for her stylish
interiors and shop, and her popular collections for Osborne & Little

You can ignore many design rules – they are often unhelpful. But do attend
to practical advice with care. For example, don’t hang a chandelier from a
low ceiling where it will scrape heads. • Avoid lights that clasp the ceiling
like bowls; they’re horrid. But there are always exceptions, such as an exqui-
site glass-petalled example from Parisian company Baguès (1). • I hate it
when a loo can be seen from outside the bathroom. Set it around the
corner from the door so that passers-by are not confronted by it. • I like soft 4
colours in a bathroom. Combine them with glinting mirrors and beautiful
towels for a sense of ceremony. Light spilling from behind and under a footed
bath looks lovely (2 & 3). • Practise ‘playing lady’ in a space. John Fowler
taught me this phrase. Act out sitting, reading and entertaining in the house.
1 A glass-petalled ‘Roof Light 1’ from Baguès. Problems such as a dingy corner or a poorly placed towel rail will immedi-
2 Nina chose a soft pink for the bathroom ately become clear. • Pay no attention to grand,
walls in her Chelsea house. 3 ‘Peony Pink’ sweeping opinions. I heard someone say, ‘Brown Practise ‘playing lady’
and ‘Ethereal Blue’, £39 for 2.5 litres matt wood is boring’, when of course a beautiful, well-
emulsion, from Sanderson. 4 Regency in a space. Act out sitting
looked-after piece of brown furniture can be pure
mahogany hall chair, £2,800 for a pair,
heaven (4). • Hang mirrors in unexpected places.
from James Graham-Stewart. 5 Nina used and entertaining. Problems
I love to place little slivers of mirrors in between
narrow mirrors on the bookshelves in this
bookshelves to give a nice glimmer (5). • Don’t be such as a dingy corner or a
Chelsea town house. 6 In the same house,
afraid of having a wooden floor near a bath. It
Nina ensured the seating plan in the sitting
looks lovely, and unless you have a tribe of eight- poorly placed towel rail will
room was conducive to conversation
year-olds leaping in and out of the bath, water immediately become clear
damage isn’t a problem. • In a sitting room, the
6 most important – and tricky – element is the
seating plan. Two people sitting next to one another rarely speak to each
AS TOLD TO RUTH SLEIGHTHOLME. PHOTOGRAPHS: RAY MAIN; SIMON BROWN; JODY TODD
other, so use occasional chairs pulled in at diagonals to create conver-
sational triangles (6). ninacampbellinteriors.com | osborneandlittle.com

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