• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Interiors Addict

Heart Your Home

@interiorsaddict on Instagram   @interiorsaddict on Facebook   @interiorsaddict on Pinterest  
Subscribe
  • Job Board
  • About
  • Before & Afters
  • RENO ADDICT
  • Kitchens
  • Bathrooms
  • Kids Rooms
  • Bedrooms
  • Living Room
  • Shopping
  • Expert Tips
  • Recipes
  • Parenting
  • Travel
Interiors Addict
  • Job Board
  • About
    • Our Story

      Australiaโ€™s largest interior design, styling and renovation blog for the everyday Aussie. By former journalist and magazine editor Jen Bishop, the original interiors addict!
      READ MORE

      Weโ€™re big on Instagram!
      @interiorsaddict

      • About
      • Contact Interiors Addict
      • Work with Interiors Addict
      • Advertise / Find a job in Interiors
      • Press
      • Get Your Free Ebook

        This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • By Room
    • Browse by Room

      Where you can search for all our posts about a specific room. Only interested in kitchens and bathrooms? We got you!

      • Kitchens
      • Bathrooms
      • Kids Rooms
      • Bedrooms
      • Living Room
      • Home Office
      • Dining
      • Laundry
      • Outdoor & Exteriors
      • Renting
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • Before & Afters
    • Before & Afters

      Who doesnโ€™t LOVE a good before & after? If you want to be inspired by the whole reno process, and not just the shiny photos at the end, this is the place for you!

      View Articles

      • Before & Afters
      • Jen’s reno
      • Real Renos
      • RENO ADDICT
    • AFTER bedroomBefore & after: Luxury Sydney apartments go from drab to fab
    • 5.2-Upcycle-afterWhen cost of living increases put your reno in jeopardy, be smart
  • Reno Addict
    • RENO ADDICT

      Looking for reno inspo? Find it all here, from other peopleโ€™s projects to the latest trends, tools and products, whether youโ€™re DIY-ing or employing trades.

      View articles

      • Reno Products
      • The Block
      • DIY
      • Reno Trends
      • Before & Afters
      • Real Renos
    • Sahara_36_MA_kitchen_2500pxHow to give any home a sophisticated industrial vibe
    • Lounge roomBeautiful St Kilda home renovation references Paris decor
  • Shopping
    • Shopping

      Want to know where to buy the latest furniture, homewares, rugs, art and more? Weโ€™re always sharing our latest finds and telling you where you can buy them.

      View Articles

      • Furniture
      • Homewares
      • Art
      • Smart Home
      • Appliances
      • Reno Products
    • BASOTHO_HERITAGE_BLANKET_KHARETSA_ALOE_12_9065-2The Baobab Collective: authentic and soulful African textiles
    • image004-2Greg Natale’s latest 80s inspired rug range is our favourite yet!
  • Inspiration
    • Inspiration

      While Jenโ€™s a legitimate interiors addict, sheโ€™s no design professional, so she calls on an army of the countryโ€™s best to share their expertise with you. Be inspired by their stories too!

      View Articles

      • Decorating 101
      • Interviews
      • Expert Tips
      • Before & Afters
      • House Tours
      • Designers
      • Styling
      • Renovating
      • Real Renos
      • Covet my coffee table
    • Lounge roomBeautiful St Kilda home renovation references Paris decor
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle

      Weโ€™re mostly about the home but Jen also likes to share other things she thinks youโ€™ll love, like food and travel.

      • Recipes
      • Travel
      • Parenting
    • DSC_8605Foodie Friday: Family-friendly French onion soup
    • Isla-MotelHip new motel renovation on NSW South Coast
  • Jobs
    • Advertise on our job board
    • Job Board FAQs for advertisers

Kit Kemp home tour: her English country weekender

October 7, 2020 2 Comments

FacebookPinEmailTweet

By Jenny Rose-Innes

Across the arm of a sofa in the sitting room of Kit Kempโ€™s house in the New Forest is a colourful cloth she found in a second-hand clothes shop in Covent Garden. It provided the inspiration for โ€˜Mythical Creaturesโ€™, the range of china she designed for Wedgwood.

Kit finds inspiration everywhere, and has also collaborated on textiles, wallpapers and rugs. But, in the design world, she is known, more than anything, for her individual take on hotel interiors. More than 30 years ago, Kit and her husband, Tim, opened the Dorset Square Hotel in Marylebone, and since then they have established a string of others, in both London and New York. As well as the hotels, they have their own commercial laundry and a small in-house hospitality school and bakery.

Each property is unique, but what ties them together is Kitโ€™s unpredictable, and often playful, approach to design. Her world is colourful and full of pattern and texture. Itโ€™s infused with contemporary art but, equally, presents more mundane objects in a new light. Her interiors are calm and comfortable, yet exciting at the same time. She has an ability to create environments that, while highly distinctive, are always sensitive to their surroundings.

Her fatherโ€™s family was artistic, so even as a child art was there in the background. โ€˜Iโ€™ve always loved colour,โ€™ she says. Kit grew up in the country, just across the river from where her family house is now. โ€˜I was a tomboy and spent a lot of time outside โ€“ we lived a very rural life, without any neighbours.โ€™ As far as interiors went, she was also practical. โ€˜I knew how to upholster a sofa and wallpaper a hallway.โ€™

When she left school, one of her first jobs, which she thoroughly enjoyed, was with an auctioneer. She then worked for a shipping company for a while before moving up to London, where she got a job with a Polish architect, Leszek Nowicki, who would often take her to exhibitions. โ€˜I learnt to get a very good feel for dimensions and space,โ€™ she says. โ€˜My boss had a very โ€œcraftyโ€ aesthetic โ€“ very simple. He much preferred pottery to fine china. I gained great experience there.โ€™

After a few years, she started her own small company, again in shipping, and later joined Tim in a business that specialised in student accommodation. โ€˜When he managed to get the freehold for one of the buildings, he had plans to upgrade it,โ€™ she says. Heโ€™d already been using a decorator, but Kit figured out she could do it instead. โ€˜So thatโ€™s what happened โ€“ if I decide to do something, Iโ€™m pretty determined. I never give up.โ€™

That was in the mid-Eighties, and the upgraded hostel became the Dorset Square Hotel. โ€˜I remember Country Life calling it the first country house hotel in London,โ€™ she says. โ€˜Itโ€™s a Regency building, and we still have it in the group.โ€™ From then, she says, โ€˜the interiors of the hotels became my world.โ€™

Their country house, set on four-and-a-half acres near the Hampshire coast with a garden running down to the waterโ€™s edge, certainly needed Kitโ€™s clever approach to design when she and Tim found it in 1999. โ€˜It was built in the 1930s and wasnโ€™t
a very attractive house, really,โ€™ she says. โ€˜It had been on the market for ages, and we thought we could do something with it because of the position.โ€™

About 10 years ago, they completely refurbished it, adding the orangery โ€“ or dining room โ€“ as well as an extra bedroom, new entrance hall and stairway. The house is decorated in quintessential Kit Kemp style, with plenty of bold colour and pattern, in wallpaper, upholstery fabric and rugs; an abundance of artwork, including oversized contemporary sculptures and paintings; and a mix of furniture, from the rustic to the more refined. Clearly, pieces have been collected from all over the world โ€“ in a bedroom, for instance, a traditional hunting scene hangs above ornate Indian side tables. In Kitโ€™s capable hands, elements that, in other settings, might not sit together comfortably make perfect sense.

Kitโ€™s ability to create entire worlds is also in evidence outside. Apart from the topiary animals that frolic across the lawn or stand among flower beds, there are three enchanting additions โ€“ a shepherdโ€™s hut, a gypsy caravan and a thatched summerhouse. The hut had once belonged to a friend, John Harman, who had built it and used it as an office. It has since undergone a significant transformation. โ€˜As heโ€™s a thatcher, I asked him to thatch it,โ€™ says Kit. โ€˜There was a boiler in the corner, which we stripped out, and then I asked Melissa to do her magic.โ€™ Melissa White, who worked with Kit on a fabric and wallpaper collection, filled the interior walls with scenes and motifs youโ€™re more likely to find in a storybook, all sitting under a stylised starry sky. The hut provides a quiet working spot for Kit, or just somewhere to retreat to. Itโ€™s decorated with all sorts of bits and pieces she has collected over the years, which look all the better for being mismatched.

John also built the summerhouse, otherwise known as โ€˜the hobbitโ€™s hutโ€™. The gypsy caravan, says Kit, is an authentic one they found in Dorset. โ€˜Whole families of gypsies would roam the countryside in these caravans. Thereโ€™s a stove and a pull-out bed in it, and children are completely entranced by it. We have afternoon tea inside and pretend to tell peopleโ€™s fortunes.โ€™

Every weekend Kit and Tim, who live in London during the week, come down to the house, which is also home to their three generations of King Charles spaniels, and Kit and Timโ€™s family when they visit. Even before they found it, theyโ€™d been renting a little farmhouse about half a mile away, partly as a way of getting their three daughters out of London and attuned to a more rural lifestyle. โ€˜At first theyโ€™d almost hated it, but very quickly they decided they quite liked it, with all the horse riding,โ€™ she says. โ€˜I loved the farmhouse โ€“ it was really rustic and the children could ride their bikes all around the ground floor!โ€™

These days, Kit usually rides on weekends, and does โ€˜Sunday lunch for waifs and strays โ€“ I donโ€™t mind cooking, but donโ€™t enjoy the washing upโ€™. In summer, the family spend a lot of time on the terrace, but Kit says the garden has a lot to offer all year round. โ€˜Iโ€™m no great gardener, but I love gardens,โ€™ she says. โ€˜When you shut the door of a room, it dies, whereas the garden just goes on and on.โ€™ She has plans to do more in the garden. โ€˜And we have an old boathouse which I would love to redo.โ€™

Q&A

How do you like to entertain?
Now that we have redone the house in London, I really would like to have people around in a very simple way. And, actually, I owe people!

How do you relax?
I go riding and walk the dogs. I have a few good friends down here, and we will meet for a coffee. I also love picking flowers on a Friday evening โ€“ sometimes I get tense about work, but whenever I start putting the flowers together, I begin to feel so relaxed. Iโ€™m really lucky to have that balance.

Whatโ€™s your idea of luxury?
Going around the garden in the early morning in my nightie, and swimming in the nude.

Is there any piece of advice that has stuck with you?
I think it really is about self-belief, sticking to your guns and not doubting yourself.

Are there any design books you particularly love?
I buy a lot of them โ€“ Iโ€™m not totally digital. I still love a scrapbook โ€“ it means more to me than scrolling through Pinterest. I love Chester Jonesโ€™ book, and also love Robert Kimeโ€™s work. And Axel Vervoordtโ€™s, too.

What are your favourite holiday destinations?
We always spend summers at home near the coast in Hampshire and Christmas on Barbados. Weโ€™ve got lazy about going anywhere new โ€“ at least we know that when we go to Barbados everything is organised, so we can just plonk! Iโ€™d love to go to India again โ€“ I want to look at some designs and furniture โ€“ and I should go to the Far East as well.

Do you collect anything?
Many things, such as plates, and then they hang in a group. We also collected bowling shoes โ€“ so, peculiar things, which we then make into an art piece. I love using the tops of weather vanes, and door stops. I also collect French pottery โ€“ Cluny jugs.

What would you grab if there was a fire?
Itโ€™s so difficult with so many memories, but I think I would take the wooden sculpted lionโ€™s head on the console in the green room. He has the friendliest face and the kindest eyes.

This is an edited extract from British Designers at Home by Jenny Rose-Innes published by Hardie Grant Books. RRP $60. Available in Australia from 29 October, at all good book shops.

Photos by Simon Griffiths

For more on Jenny Rose-Innes

FacebookPinEmailTweet

Primary Sidebar

Popular This Week

  • Australian kitchen dimensions: standard sizes for every last detail
  • How to elevate your living room by stylist Natalie Walton
  • Palette Cam 15 apps to help you build your dream home
  • The gorgeous internal courtyard Renovated cottage has unique lookout to take in coastal views
  • Old Newtown bakery sustainably reimagined as unique family home

Follow us on Instagram

Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

โœ”๏ธ I'm English ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008๐Ÿ˜† 

โœ”๏ธ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. ๐Ÿ› 

โœ”๏ธ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) ๐Ÿ““ 

โœ”๏ธ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London ๐Ÿš” 

โœ”๏ธI had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife ๐Ÿ˜

โœ”๏ธ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK โค๏ธ ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง 

โœ”๏ธ At school, my favourite subject was French ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท and I was head girl ๐Ÿค“๐Ÿค“

โœ”๏ธ I'm addicted to โ˜•๏ธ , long hot baths and๐Ÿ’„ (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

โœ”๏ธ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message ๐Ÿ˜

โœ”๏ธ My favourite cuisine is Japanese ๐Ÿฃ ๐Ÿœ and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

โœ”๏ธ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

โœ”๏ธ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or๐Ÿท 

โœ”๏ธ Cheesy as it sounds, ๐Ÿ’โ€โ™€๏ธbeing a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life ๐Ÿง’๐Ÿ‘ฆ

โœ”๏ธ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view ๐Ÿ“– 

โœ”๏ธ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

โœ”๏ธ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker ๐Ÿ˜ฏ ๐Ÿ…ฟ๏ธ

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better ๐Ÿ˜˜

๐Ÿ“ธ @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? ๐ŸŽจ @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? ๐ŸŽจ 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

โ€œWe are very honoured to have been a part ofย The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,โ€ he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

๐Ÿ™Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! ๐ŸŽจ 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find ๐Ÿค—

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
๐Ÿ“ธ @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
The things that excite me as a 40 year old ๐Ÿคญ N The things that excite me as a 40 year old ๐Ÿคญ

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

โœ”๏ธ ventilation holes
โœ”๏ธ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
โœ”๏ธ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
โœ”๏ธ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
โœ”๏ธ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
โœ”๏ธ compact, sleek, European design
โœ”๏ธ 10 year warranty
โœ”๏ธ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿป

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again๐Ÿคจ

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE ๐Ÿคช
#weatherforit ๐Ÿฅถ Need a new blanket? Look no fu #weatherforit ๐Ÿฅถ

Need a new blanket? Look no further than these gorgeous South African blankets from @baobabcollective, sustainably sourced, ethically crafted and imported by a Southern Highlands couple.

On the blog now via link in bio.
Follow on Instagram
Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

Get Your Free Ebook

Ebook cover

Never miss the latest renovating and interiors products, news and inspo again! Sign up for our newsletter and we'll send you the best bits from the blog, direct to your inbox. Plus you'll get our latest eBook: What Made The Biggest Impact in Jen's Own Reno.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Avatar

About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

More from Designers

Lounge room

Beautiful St Kilda home renovation references Paris decor

Dining room

Canadian home reno is a riot of colour and fun and we…

Monochrome & brass make for a stylish Brisbane home

Neale Whitaker

Neale Whitaker’s latest tips on the art of apartment living

Garden

A striking retirement pad on the Mornington Peninsula

Robert Gordon basin

Robert Gordon’s fab new interiors range includes basins & lights

House K by Kart Projects | Architecture. Photographer: Rory Gardiner.

2022 Dulux Colour Awards: Winners showcase sophisticated colour

Augumented reality lets you dream big with virtual renovations

Tiny Giraffe

Brisbane artist creates unique metallic map prints

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarDakwerken says

    October 7, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    The designs look amazing. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. AvatarGraysonau says

    October 12, 2020 at 11:17 pm

    Thanks for sharing a very nice blog post amazing

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Footer

Interiors Addict

Interiors Addict

  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Jen
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy

Browse

  • RENO ADDICT
  • Jen’s Reno
  • House Tours
  • Real Renos
  • Interviews
  • Styling
  • Designers
  • Bedrooms
  • Covet My Coffee Table
  • Expert Tips
  • The Block
  • Art
  • Furniture
  • Recipes

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RENO ADDICT

Copyright © 2011–2022 Addicted Media Pty Ltd
Website care by ClickWP ยท Log in

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!