I was thrilled to learn that Kemble Interiors, with offices in both New York and Palm Beach, will be expanding into Houston! I had, of course, heard and known about the wonderful work of Kemble Interiors for some time, but about two years ago, I got to experience the design firm's trend-setting work first-hand while helping Celerie Kemble and her associate Lindsey Herod with the finishes in a Houston home. It was so much fun watching this design legend's philosophies at play!!!
Here's busy Celerie, sitting on her Serpentine sofa (photo by Don Freeman)! In addition to running the New York firm, Celerie is constantly designing various pieces for her collections. This sofa is part of her gorgeous collection of case goods and upholstery with Henredon Furniture. This line is perfectly complemented by her accessories collection from MAITLAND-SMITH.
Celerie also has a rug collection with Merida Meridian! She has a talent for mixing colors and patterns in bold, unexpected ways, as evident here in her Catalyst rug shown in Pink Grapefruit. Check out more of her designs below!!!
Whether you prefer wool or jute, Celerie has some fantastic options! I've included the specs on these rugs below, in case you're interested in learning more about her collection with Merida Meridian:
- Catalyst, Plough, Tremor, Rake, Craze: 100% Wool, Made in USA, lead time 6 weeks
- Climb, Nasturtium Weave: 100% Sisal, Made in Belgium, lead time 2-4 weeks
- Cocoon: 100% Jute, Made in India, lead time 2-4 weeks
- Belted Stripe: 100% Abaca, Made in Philippines, unbacked, lead time 12 weeks
There is truly nothing that this little lady doesn’t do well!!! She even has a wallcovering and fabric line with F. Schumacher! All of the items in Celerie Kemble for Schumacher espouse her well-known design aesthetic, combining classic lines with modern detailing and an eclectic flair. Celerie is a pro at blending a variety of styles and trends in a beautiful, harmonious way. I just love how her F. Schumacher collection has everything from geometric patterns to ikats to metallic finishes to velvet!
So how could this busy mother of three have time to expand? Her right-hand gal, Lindsey Herod, a native Texan, was happy to take on the challenge! Here's Lindsey inside the incredible home I helped them with a couple years ago! Go here to see the house when we first started and to meet Christopher Garrett, the renovator!!!
This two-story entrance has corridors upstairs and down as well as a room that leads to the upstairs halls. After falling in love with a discontinued wallpaper, Celerie and Lindsey enlisted Segreto's help to replicate the look. Using the wallpaper as inspiration, we came up with this elegant, two-color stencil design.
You can see the detail of the pattern above! It was such a pleasure getting to know Lindsey better throughout this process. She's been interested in art and design since she was a little girl. Although she graduated with a degree in architecture from Texas A&M, she quickly became head over heels for the interior design department at Pratt and completed her Masters of Interior Design there.
It was so fun for me to see how Kemble interiors maintained the home's cohesive feel while layering myriad colors throughout! I asked Lindsey how they managed to achieve this so spectacularly: ”I typically start with one pattern or multi-colored item in every room. It might be a wallpaper or a rug or a fabric or a painting. Then I draw everything from that. And I always layer in texture. A little grasscloth or sisal, some brass, something shiny, and something dull and always something old. An easy way to do that, don’t buy everything in your home from one place or in one style.” Love that advice!
As you can see from this home, Lindsey adores color! While some people are afraid of using color because they're worried about flow, Lindsey's not one of them!!! "Flow can be overrated! I’ve put a bright coral entry, next to a pale yellow living room, next to a natural grass cloth family room, next to a high-gloss mint lacquered dining room, next to a lime green kitchen! It doesn’t feel odd or confusing; it feels like a surprise is up ahead."
This color philosophy is at play here, going from a room saturated with jewel tones to this more neutral dining room with plastered walls keeps the home interesting. Kemble Interiors always finds so many unique pieces, like the iron doors, chandelier and velvet chairs on display here! With experience in cities across the country, Lindsey has developed a repertoire of shops she loves! Some of her favorites include Dixie Highway, Shi Ernhart, D&G Antiques, and Circa Who in Palm Beach, and in New York, she loves Todd Romano, John Rosselli, 145 Antiques and John Sallibello.
While she's still discovering all the great places in Houston, Lindsey frequents Brown, FOUND, The Gray Door, Joyce Horn, MAI, Carl Moore, Longoria Collection, and Segreto Gallery when shopping for her Houston clients.
What a fun, unexpected back staircase!!! I love the layers of interest from the paper, the washed wood floors, the wonderful pops of color in the fabrics, and the staircase balustrades that we embellished with a hint of gold. You can certainly tell that the Kemble gals love what they do!
This wide open kitchen/breakfast area is spectacular! It has an eclectic feel, yet all the elements marry together perfectly!!!
The Carrera marble back wall reads like art! I think the combo of the industrial feel of the bar stools and the European touch of the brass and metal hood is so stunning! This is an absolute dream kitchen!!!
Our part in the kitchen? The floors! Taking inspiration from the window treatments, we hand-painted the floor with a design of delicately scattered leaves. Throughout our conception of these floors, I imagined it as though we had thrown leaves up into the air and then painted them wherever they landed.
In the cozy breakfast area, comfy chairs and a loveseat invite you to sit down for a family meal. To personalize this space, we also added the kids' names around a few of the designs... they had so much fun looking for their names!!!
Another clever idea - hiding the tv behind curtains! In a kitchen/breakfast space like this, I think this concept works particularly well since it draws on the cottage style of using curtains to enclose cabinetry.
It’s all in the details with this home! We not only finished all the vents and lights to blend with the papers, tiles, or paint finishes on the walls and ceilings, but we also added striping details to lights and finishing touches to furniture. This guest room is still a work in progress, but we have just completed the walls and moved the furnishings back in.
What an amazing project to be a part of! The best part was getting to know Celerie and Lindsey!!! They are as creative as they are nice, beautiful and charming! Thank you so much to both of you for letting me share your work and a little of yourselves.
Next week: a bed and bath makeover from Lindsey and the Kemble Interiors team! Have a great week everyone! Till next Monday, xo Leslie
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