Decorating & Design
February 2, 2016
6 Colorful Spaces To Covet By Brit Designer Kit Kemp
British interior designer Kit Kemp’s second book, Every Room Tells a Story, is full of playful spaces that tell a tale with each accessory. She invites readers to step into her colorful world, showcasing her latest projects with Firmdale Hotels (the chain she owns with her husband, Tim). “A great space need not be the most glamorous or luxurious — it’s how personal and interesting you make it,” says Kit. Here’s a look at some of the book’s most beautiful rooms.
Kit designed this room for Wool Week 2014 where she met Prince Charles (who was fascinated with the term ‘boiled wool’). “He asked his assistant to write it down but I’m sure it must have sounded like gobbledygook when he looked at it later on,” says Kit. The curtains, high-backed chairs, rug and even the artwork above the fireplace were all made of wool.
Two uses of the same bright coral play off one another nicely and add a feminine counterpoint to the army green walls.
Kit designed this room around an Indian folk-art cabinet (far left) and chose to cocoon the walls in a dark blue denim wallpaper. The wing chairs flanking either side of the window are covered in Peter Dunham’s statement-making Samarkand fabric.
The library at the Ham Yard Hotel feels traditional and English (notice the quirky statue of Her Majesty the Queen tucked under a cloche to the right of the flowers?). “A wall of books is the best wall covering a room can handle. I take the paper covers off the books so the raw spines in all their natural colors show through and look softer against the shelves,” explains Kit.
Kit had pieces of felt and fabric embellished on top of denim to create this artsy headboard. Autumn-like colors work in harmony, but look equally inviting all year round.
Ralph Lauren’s Sacred Mountain fabric, which has a Navajo feel, makes a strong statement on the sofa. The stone lamp by Porta Romano and abstract painting also tie-in with the grey of the sofa fabric nicely.