Shopping with... Interior Designer Celerie Kemble

By Lauren Sherman
April 8, 2010

New York-based interior designer Celerie Kemble spends a lot of time shopping for others. At least when it comes to household furnishings. As a principal at Kemble Interiors—a design firm started by her mother, Mimi McMakin—the wife and mother of two constantly juggles several clients of varying demands and budgets, which means she devotes hours upon hours in search of the perfect lamp shade, the most distinctive vase or the ideal table. In her book, To Your Taste: Creating Modern Rooms With a Traditional Twist, published last year, Kemble aims to teach readers the basics of putting a home together. And while her practical advice is appreciated, it's Kembles own shopping habits that we're particularly curious about. The designer, who counts designers Tory Burch and Lela Rose as clients, chatted with The Inside Source about her latest inspirations.

This Inside Source: Your book has been a big hit. Why do you think it resonated with home design enthusiasts?
Celerie Kemble: I hope the book resonates because I'm honest about how hard the decision-making process can be, and about how many compromises must be made to make a beautiful space come together. I don't leave the readers hanging with a problem and a few unobtainable expensive rooms as solutions. I give them solutions that actually work, demonstrated by photos of rooms that I've done across different budgets and for varied tastes.

TIS: As an interior designer, how much of your work consists of searching for antiques and other secondhand pieces?
CK: The hunt is the most exhilarating part of my job and I relish every moment of it. It can take no time (the right piece can be one that jumps out at you and lets you know immediately that it is what you were looking for in the first place) or years to find. I have the luxury of looking for many people and houses at the same time, so the victorious moments are more frequent. And sometimes a fantasy shopping spree yields the most practical information for use later. When I find items I love but don't have immediate use for, I bookmark the vendor and save the search so I can easily find it the next time around.

TIS: Designers of all kinds tend to be influenced by the places they travel to. Do you feel this way? What are some of the spots that have influenced your work?
CK: I'm influenced by beauty sometimes half a world away and also right outside my window. So I would actually downplay the importance of travel. Except that it reminds you of how many different concepts of beauty there are. It's a cliche because it's so true. There's nothing like nature—a bouquet of flowers, a cluster of fish around coral—to remind you of beauty in its purest state. Right now, though, I might have to say a good rest might be the most influential part of my creative process.

TIS: Are there any projects you're currently working on that you're particularly excited about?
CK: I am working on two projects in the Dominican Republic—both are so rich in color and whimsy that I find myself dreaming of them nightly. Perhaps it's the New York winter that's taking its toll on me. I'm also having a lot of fun designing a model apartment in NYC—it's pretty freeing to work for imaginary clients. They are miraculously objection free!

TIS: Your own home is so beautiful. When do you shop for yourself?
CK: Ugh! This is part of why I work so hard.... I look at beautiful things all day, supposedly focused on my clients, but it is impossible to keep from unintentionally falling in love with things for myself. It proves an expensive problem and a source of endless clutter because as easily as I fall in love, I wrestle terribly with object sentimentality and I have an especially hard time letting things go.

Kemble's eBay Shopping List

1. Vintage Glass Match Strike (current bid, $23.67) This match strike is made from Bohemia malachite glass.

2. Vintage Italian Murano Paperweight (sold for $92.09) The designer is currently on the hunt for these paperweights in different colors.

3. Antique Vintage 1945 ABC Children's Book (starting bid, $3) "I like to use vintage children's books for art in kid's rooms," says Kemble.

4. Vintage Turquoise Dansk Small Paella Pan (sold for $42) Kemble collects vintage turquoise enamelware for her kitchen, like this beautiful paella pan.

5. Modern Hollywood Regency Table with Set of Four Chairs (starting bid, $190) "I love the set," says Kemble. "It would be super cute painted in a high gloss turquoise with a lavender lavastone top and faux leather seat cushions in lavender with white piping."

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