We Went Shopping with ‘The Marvels’ Director Nia DaCosta

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Director and screenwriter Nia DaCosta knows a thing or two about a big relocation. After two years in Los Angeles, the award-winning filmmaker and New York City native packed up and moved to London to finish work on her third feature, The Marvels, which hit theaters this month. ELLE DECOR caught up with DaCosta to find out what’s keeping her anchored and inspired in her new home in the British capital, as she prepares her next feature, an adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play Hedda Gabler.

ELLE DECOR: What’s your favorite decorative accessory or design object at home?

Nia DaCosta: The Simone Bodmer Turner [vessels] feel special to me. It always changes use. I’ve used it as a vase and also to hold jewelry.

ED: How about something in your home that people may be surprised is important to you?

NDC: I’ve been using Sensodyne for as long as I can remember because my mom used it. Everywhere I am in the world, I try to find it.

ED: What’s the best online find you’ve brought home?

NDC: I’m not generally an eBay hunter, but the dining table is one my housemate suggested. We’d been on the same vibe of wanting to find really good pieces. This one in particular we loved. The shape of it, the dark, dark wood. You can beat it up a little bit and it’ll hold up. It’s resilient. I really love cooking and feeding people and bringing people together around it for games as well. I’ve spent of lot of time playing cards and hosting there.

ED: If you had to choose a favorite item of furniture in your home, which would it be?

NDC: My Camaleonda sofa by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia. I wanted a piece that I could bring to my next home and keep in my house no matter where I move next. It’s a classic piece. Two years ago was the first time it’s been made again since the ’70s. I really liked that it felt like something I can get reupholstered and that I’d want to keep forever.

ED: Do you have a signature scent at home?

NDC: I was actually on Byredo looking for candles [for my place], and while I was looking I found this perfume. I love the bottle and how dark it is. I really like musky smells for nighttime—something that you smell lightly but has a heavy, rich, textured feeling. I’m not an incense person, but I’m a big candle person, but I don’t love bright scents in the house. You want to be soothed as opposed to perked up.

ED: How about something that you received as a gift?

NDC: My first-edition copy of the play Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen was gifted to me by one of the writers of The Marvels. It has become a bit of a talisman. I have not read the edition yet. I have it in my room almost as if it’s on an altar. I have dried flowers on it, I have crystals on it.... It reminds me of its age and how the story has stood the test of time. Hedda Gabler is about a woman who’s come back from her honeymoon. She recently got married not for love but for status. She realizes someone else has a semblance of power over her, and she goes about manipulating everyone around her.

EDC: Is there an object in your home that people would be surprised to hear you have?

NDC: I’m from New York City, born and raised, so I’d never really seen the night sky. When I was 12 years old, I went to the Adirondacks. I looked up and saw the Milky Way for the first time. When you look up in New York City, you see three pin pricks. Ever since, I’ve had an interest in telescopes and the night sky.

A good friend invited me to look through her telescope, and I saw Saturn for the first time. We took a few dark-sky trips. Then, eventually, I thought I should buy a telescope for myself. I bought this one last year when I moved to London. With it, I’ve seen Jupiter, the moon, Mars. I have a StarSense Explorer. It’s heavy and big and has a specific kind of mount. It’s not very portable.

Celestron StarSense Explorer

With this telescope, I’ve seen Jupiter and Mars. There’s more out there than the three pinpricks I’m used to as a born-and-raised New Yorker.

Sensodyne Sensitivity & Gum Whitening Toothpaste

Everywhere I am in the world, I try to find it. I use it because my mom did while I was growing up.

Hedda Gabler

This first edition of Henrik Ibsen’s play was gifted to me by one of my Marvels cowriters. It’s become a bit of a talisman. The story has stood the test of time.

Camaleonda Sofa

I wanted a classic piece in my home that I would keep forever.

Kaweco Skyline Sport Fountain Pen Black EF

A good pen really changes your handwriting. I need the help.

Simone Bodmer-Turner Ceramics

This piece feels so special to me. I’ve used it as a vase and also to hold jewelry.

Inquire

Tabacco Mandarin Extrait de Parfum 1.6 Fl. Oz.

I love scents you smell lightly but that have a rich, heavy, textured feeling. I’m about to order two more bottles.

GMMK 2 Gaming Mechanical Keyboard

I’m always typing. These keys make a satisfying clickety-clack sound: smooth, but with an edge.

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