Celerie Kemble’s childhood was in many ways a design tutorial spent on construction sites and in antique stores as her mother and founder of Kemble Interiors, Mimi McMakin, designed many of Palm Beach, Florida’s most spectacular homes.
A graduate of Harvard, Celerie worked in film production before succumbing to what she calls a compulsion for design and the creation of thoughtful interiors that “put the person in the place.” Partnered with her mother in Palm Beach, Celerie established a design office in New York City and has spent the past 20 years cultivating a portfolio of much publicized residential and commercial interiors that are as unique and diverse as her international clientele. Her office has grown from a humble three-quarter size office apartment in the West Village to a vibrant and dynamic studio on 30th Street.
Known for her candor, humor and approachable design advice, Celerie published Celerie Kemble: To Your Taste in 2008 and most recently Black and White: And a Bit in Between in 2011. She has created to-the-trade fabrics and wallcoverings with F. Schumacher, as well as a collection of wool and natural fiber floorcoverings with Merida. Celerie also has collections of furniture and upholstery for Henredon with decorative accessories for Maitland-Smith, an outdoor collection with Lane Venture, mirrors with Mirror Image Home, bedding with Eastern Accents and Curtain Hardware for Classical Elements. She brings imagination and a love of design to every product in her collection, as well as an understanding of practical use.
Michael Boodro has said Kemble Interiors “incorporates the serendipitous and the sentimental without losing clarity or strength.” The firm’s success is a reflection of Celerie’s design ethos, which balances the aesthetic integrity of the project with the needs and personality of her client.
