Nina Campbell Interior Decoration: Elegance and Ease by Giles Kime

Since first she went to work for Colefax & Fowler, at the ripe old age of 19, that very British decorator, Nina Campbell, has risen (deservedly) to lofty heights and international acclaim. Very much a Sloane Ranger - she was actually born on Sloane Street, and her shop has been at the same address, round the corner on Walton Street, for nearly 50 years - she has lived, from her birth, in a succession of elegant homes within walking distance, as has her daughter, Rita Konig, herself very much in the trade (she writes for House & Garden). Nina Campbell’s 3-year apprenticeship to her mentor, John Fowler, led to independence and almost instant success while she was still in her 20s. Her early partnership with Mark Birley in his 1963 revamping of Annabel’s - London’s louche and rather more elegant counterpart to New York’s Studio 54 - proved both the litmus test and turning point in her fledgling career, which thereupon promptly took off. Deploying classic British style in tru