Spring Greens

Words Kit KempImages Simon BrownDate 24 March 2021

Kit Kemp is back with another collector's trove—Design Secrets out this May 2021. In her new book, Kemp gives a unique, lively, and informative masterclass on being bold with your design choices, be it top tips, do’s and don’ts, adding a touch of magic to your home, and interviews with creative people she admires and collaborates with for her projects. Below is a preview from her book, which you can order here, on how to use the freshest, most soothing of all colors in nature…

Green is the color of life, hope, energy, and nature, so I often use it to breathe fresh air into a room.

In The Whitby Hotel’s Terrace Suite 1402, the walls of the drawing room are papered in my Friendly Folk design, featuring a chalky white background with soft green figures. The windows are framed in the same design, but in reverse on a leafy green linen with two matching tub chairs in front. There are hints of green too in the comfy armchair and cushions covered in my Hedgerow design. I love the way little jewels of pink burst from the linen like spring flowers, making you quite forget Manhattan’s concrete jungle outside.

In the Terrace Suite at Ham Yard Hotel, Natasha Hulse has intricately appliquéd one of our signature headboards with an elaborate floral design. The three-dimensional quality of her work gives the room depth and breaks the boundary between indoors and outdoors. This teams perfectly with Tobias and the Angel’s fabric in olive, which is used for the curtains, and my Rain Shadow cushions for Fine Cell Work on the bed.

A deep garden-green floral fabric from Christopher Farr Cloth’s Raoul Dufy Collection upholstering the tall, curving headboard, set against the subtly patterned Isabena fabric by Nina Campbell on the walls at Number Sixteen is a wonderful example of balancing greens and blues to harmonious effect. In subtle contrast, the linen of the curtains made in my Travelling Light fabric drapes beautifully to the floor, its white background looking fresh against the leafy view of the gardens outside and the handsome Handle chair and the West Timber Tub chairs covered in green leather with stitched white piping.

At Crosby Street Hotel, I have used my Ozone fabric for Christopher Farr Cloth in green on the headboard and my Mud Print design on the walls to create a bright and airy scheme which feels like spring.

In the drawing room of this one-bedroom suite, with walls upholstered in an orange Casamance fabric, I used my Friendly Folk design in melon orange on both the curtains and cushions, and in basil green on the armchairs. Combined with Lewis & Wood’s Tribal fabric in Limpopo green on the sofas, this playful reverse color combination adds freshness to the warm room. A solid orange trim on both the curtains and cushions also helps to frame the fabric, creating a sense of harmony and nature in this spacious suite.