Design for Living: Firmdale Hotels

I love staying in hotels and in my perfect world could happily live in a hotel.  It seems I am not alone in this notion as I read in T Magazine, "A Hotel Room of One's Own" by Andrew O'Hagan.  Should that dream ever come true, my hotel of choice would likely be one from the Firmdale Group.  Kit & Tim Kemp have over the last 30 years transformed the London boutique hotel scene, placing their very individual stamp on an ever growing group of hotels in London, including The Knightsbridge, Charlotte Street, Number 16, Haymarket and most recently Ham Yard.  In 2010 they opened in New York with Crosby Street, Soho and another hotel is currently being built in mid-town.

The hotels are often housed in buildings that have been completely refurbished.  Kit Kemp, the Creative Design Director "uses bold colors, contrasting fabrics and one-off pieces bought at art fairs and galleries around the globe, making up the melange that has evolved into the Kit Kemp look" - as explained in the Design Hotels article

For the last 10 years I've stayed at the Knightsbridge Hotel.  On occasion I've also been to Number 16, Charlotte Street and Haymarket, but inevitably end up back at the Knightsbridge as the design aesthetic and tempo really resonate with me and my interior design style is most similar in spirit to the Knightsbridge.

Kit's latest design collaboration is with Wedgwood, where she has designed a beautiful bone china service based on a collection of embroidered fabrics for Chelsea Textiles named "Mythical Creatures."