Kit Kemp, the award-winning founder and creative director of Kit Kemp Design Studio, is world-renowned for the colorful, eclectic, and artful narrative she weaves through her interiors. Her greatest fans are the regular guests of Firmdale Hotels, a collection of properties that Kemp has developed with her husband, hotelier Tim Kemp. The Dorset Square Hotel, which opened in 1985, was followed by seven other hotels in London, and now, New York has three of its own. The most recent addition is Warren Street Hotel, in Tribeca, which is infusing new life into the neighborhood. Herewith, she shares the key components of the good life. —Fiona McCarthy
Airline: British Airways.
Airport: Grantley Adams International Airport, in Barbados. I relax as soon as the Caribbean Sea coastline comes into view.
Alibi: “Gone blogging,” “Do not disturb,” or “Sorry, I was just working on a new design scheme.”
Bike: A bright pink and yellow Serotta lightweight bike, made to measure to help me go faster.
Bedtime: With a great book, later than everyone else.
Birthday: Always the next one. Don’t wait for the big numbers—celebrate every year!
Breakfast, weekday: Lemon-and-ginger tea and a slice of toast, ideally somewhere outside with a view.
Breakfast, weekend: Indulgent, with the papers.
Car: Horse riding would always be my preferred mode of transport. Perhaps I’m living in the wrong era?
Child: I couldn’t possibly answer. I’d never hear the end of it. Whoever is being the loveliest, usually my granddaughter.
