Inside design: Celerie Kemble

S@H Can you explain how an item of whimsy influences the decoration of a whole room?

CK One of my clients just loved this highly dramatic fish lamp. The lamp made the room. Instead of hiding it, I put it in a prominent spot, so it was the first thing you saw when you entered the space. Then I allowed the colour of the lamp to dictate the other colours in the room.

S@H But are there any design rules -- sorry, there’s that bad word again -- that one should try to follow?
CK [laughing] Sure. There are certain laws of geometry and spacing that you should live by. For example, leave three feet between a dining table and the wall so you have room to pull out a chair. And be sure to allow for adequate storage.

S@H Since this is our Small Spaces issue, can you give us a small-space rule not to follow?
CK You bet! I'm all about not following rules! The thing I hear over and over again is that you shouldn’t use bold colour in a small space. That’s crazy. I'd put bold colour everywhere -- the more there is, the more it tempers itself. You just have to make sure you wrap the colour so you don't delineate the edges of the room. In a small space, do anything you can to blur the edges. As long as you do that, you can use whatever colour you like.

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