Minnie Kemp’s latest source of inspiration may surprise you…
MINNIE KEMP MAY BE DRAWN TO THE COLOURS OF THE SUNSET RIGHT NOW, BUT HER LATEST INSPIRATION COMES FROM A VERY DIFFERENT SOURCE
Things aren’t always what they seem… and the image I currently have in pride of place on my mood board is a case in point. Taken in 1939, a woman stands beaming in a dress, radiant in its deep red, yellow and orange diamond weave pattern. But look closer, below, and you’ll find the outfit is made almost entirely from grapefruit peels, its trim cut from beets, carrots and turnips. It was made to celebrate Rio Grande Delta’s harvest season, and there is just something so romantic yet wrong about stitched grapefruit. So impractical, irrational but fabulous and stunning! The picture whispers a reminder to me: ‘Think outside the box, Minnie, anything is possible…’
Not only does my fruit-wearing companion, photographed by B. Anthony Stewart for the National Geographic, serve as a reminder of the ingenuity of humankind she also inspires entire schemes. When I was asked to design a playroom for a residential project, this Texas Miss got me thinking of sepia tones, set at dusk and turn-of-the-season merriment under a canopy of bushy green trees.
Moonlight Parade is a new panelled wall design we have commissioned Melissa White to create for the project – a floor-to-ceiling mural that will transport you to a magical fairyland. The ceilings are high in the room with a pitched roof, so a lovely Barley Twist drapery rod for the curtain rail seemed appropriate. You can source designs from Edward Harpley’s Suffolk workshop.
Kate Forman is a brilliant designer – her Himani fabric in Saffron reminds me of daybreak, the excitement of a fresh start. What better fabric to use, lined and interlined, for curtains. If the budget is tight you can use plain oatmeal linen from The Cloth Shop and run the sun motif measuring 20cm down the leading edge of the curtain.
Sequana is the Latin name of the Celtic Goddess who protected the source of the river Seine in ancient France. It is also the name of a wonderful fabric house and my go-to for soft wools and unusual colour combinations. I am using Sequana Jaune Plaid – a contemporary take on a traditional plaid. No room would be complete without some Kit Kemp for Christopher Farr Criss Cross in Natural – fresh, fun and a lovely contrast the more traditional designs surrounding.
Minjae Kim is a Korean artist working in New York with a background in architecture and furniture design. His organic furniture and objects ‘act as an antithesis to the restrictions in architectural practice in time, scale and accessibility’. The results – such as his Oyster Lamp – are simple, quirky and imperfect one-liners. Two of these will be positioned on antique chests framing the comfy sofa. The kids probably won’t appreciate it but you certainly will! While we are on the subject of oysters – god, I love ’em – use Schotten & Hansen Long Board wooden flooring in Oyster finish. Flooring is expensive, I know, so if like me you haven’t made your millions yet – just stick a rug over it and bide your time. Check out N.vrouyr for the best really good value rugs.
Keep up that lateral thinking, folks; I’m definitely not talking banana-skin socks, but usually there is always a way around a problem. You can do it!
The picture whispers: ‘Think outside the box, Minnie, anything is possible…’