SOMETIMES,’ says Nels Crosthwaite Eyre, ‘interior design feels like pulling rabbits out of hats.’ Rabbit pulling is something she does with consummate skill, particularly when turning a blank canvas into one that is rich in pattern, colour and soul. As a result, she is, increasingly, the country-house decorator of choice for a new generation leaving London with too little furniture to fill more square footage than they are used to. Miss Crosthwaite Eyre began her career when, having worked for a jewellery company, she found herself at a loose end in 2010 and took a position with the late, great Robert Kime. A friend told her that the designer was opening a new showroom in Bloomsbury and, despite having never considered interiors as a career path, she went along and was offered a job in the shop. Over time, her role expanded and she built up a London client base. Kime’s apprenticeship was ‘a very slow burn,’ she remembers, but she found simply being with him inspiring. ‘He was brilliant, very old school—he never turned on a computer in his life.’ She left to set up her own studio in 2014, taking with her some of Kime’s ways. ‘My approach is very old-fashioned,’ she says. ‘It’s about feeling the space, walking into the room, moving things around. That is really what Robert Kime taught me more than anything else.’
This story is from the October 11, 2023 edition of Country Life UK.
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This story is from the October 11, 2023 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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