What 's a top-class British designer to do when faced with
a small, dark, noisy American apartment?

With clients like the Duke and Duchess of York, the Queen of Denmark and rocker Rod Stewart, internationally acclaimed British designer Nina Campbell has built an illustrious career decorating some of the plushest homes in the world. In her recently released book, Elements of Design (CICO Books, 2007), she describes her personal style as "glamorous, yet comfortable and easy to live in." House & Garden magazine calls it " class with dash." But when her daughter Rita moved to Manhattan to become editor of Domino magazine, they found themselves confronted with a truly unfamiliar style challenge--the tiny, dark, noisy New York apartment. In an exclusive interview that took place in Grand Central Station's Campbell Apartment Bar (which she designed), we asked Nina how to transform that proverbial stereotype into something spectacular.

Nina Campbell on...

Tiny entryways  The foyer in my daughter's one-bedroom apartment is so short that in a half a step you're in the kitchen. Yet I've always felt it important to make entryways vibrant so that when guests arrive, they feel, “Yes, I’m going to have fun here!” To liven up her foyer, my daughter used one of my bacl wallpapers printed with bright parrots and roses. I've also used dark green lacquer a lot and also other colors that might seem too bold elsewhere. You walk through in a minute so you don't get bored. But you can also hang a few paintings and mirrors so that it doesn’t become a bright-colored box with no relief.

Cramped living rooms  If the entry is vibrant, make the living room a calmer color and be bolder in your accessories. Or, if the walls are beige, put in a wall of mirrors to intensify the color. Everything will suddenly look richer and more wonderful.

Low ceilings  I might paint the ceiling a broken white (or some other color that complements the wall) and put a lacquer on it to make it reflective. Then I'd put a strip of mirror around the top of the room to act as a crown molding; it makes you feel as if the ceiling is floating away. Finally, I'd paint the baseboard dark so it weighs the room down.

Miniscule kitchens  My daughter’s kitchen is just a passageway with a fridge, sink and oven, so the point was NOT to make a statement. To that end, she painted it all black so that now it’s just chrome and black, and it just disappears. She's single and doesn't cook, but she can still easily have four people over for supper. After all, don't New Yorkers just love to bring it home from the deli?!

Noisy bedrooms  A bedroom really must be calm and quiet. My bedroom at the moment is a delicious pale pink and steel gray, which I find relaxing. I've also put fabrics on the wall because I adore the quiet luxuriousness that it brings. And it's quite nice to walk through a painted hallway and arrive in a plush bedroom with fabric.

Bad views  Brick walls? Other apartments? You can always remake your view. Try a sheer curtain with lovely embroidery or a beautiful blind and keep it down all the time. Or, put a flower box and some bushes in the window and bring the blind down to meet it.

Limited storage  I’m quite impressed with American closets--they're so much taller than those in Britain. Still, you have to be careful about what you have and how you store it. You might make your bed a little higher and store your linen and shoes underneath in plastic containers. Or, slice off a bit of the room, if you can. I'd rather have a smaller bedroom and a bigger walk-in closet or wonderful dressing room. In my present home in London, I put cupboards everywhere and hid them, especially under odd eaves. In my dining room I had a cupboard made especially for my china and glass. With its mirrored facade, it disappears into the room yet reflects and magnifies the décor beautifully.

Maintenance  It’s absolutely possible to live small but luxuriously, but the smaller the place, the more attention you have to give to maintenance. People often forget how important it is to clean and declutter. I mean, what’s the point of going to all the trouble of decorating, only to move in and say, “ My God, what a mess!”