Interior Designer Celerie Kemble has created gracious, layered, and maximally chic interiors for decades as a partner at Kemble Interiors.

The Grand Dame Of Resort Vibes
Alongside her mother, renowned Palm Beach-based designer Mimi McMakin, designer Celerie Kemble has been featured in almost every major design magazine and has been listed for more than ten years in House Beautiful’s annual “Top Designers” list as well as one of Elle Decor's top female designer in their first “Women in Design” issue. She also wrote THE book on tropical style called Island Whimsy: Designing a Paradise by the Sea for anyone decorating a sunny home or just dreaming about one. Phillip Jeffries was honored to sit down with her and talk about summer style and how to achieve that effortlessly chic coastal look everyone wants.

From the beaches of the Playa Grande Beach Club in the Dominican Republic (perhaps her largest resort project to date!), Celerie shares her best tips to achieve that perfect resort chic look and her #1 favorite Phillip Jeffries wallcovering.

Let's dive in!


What is Celerie's Favorite PJ Wallcovering?
Island Raffia! Coveted for its textural drama, raffia wallcovering is the GO-TO wallcovering for Kemble Interiors. Authentic raffia brings the warmth of the sand and sea indoors. It's timeless, elegant, and always chic.

For the Nantucket client above, Kemble embraced an “unfortunate and impractical” bedroom with pitched ceilings and turned it into a cozy corner. By wrapping corners and edges with a tightly woven classic raffia wallcovering, she created a “wonderful birdhouse.” that highlights the architecture of the room. Overhead, the silhouette of the rattan light fixture is inspired by a parasol and gives a nod to the beach. By layering materials ranging from wicker, rattan, and bamboo, Celerie creates a blend of aesthetics.

The wallcovering, “it makes the whole room glow!” 

With gorgeous dimensional color and texture, this Island Raffia adds textural drama to your walls. Not only is it in stock so designers can order it today and get it tomorrow, but our authentic raffia grasscloth wallcovering is expertly handcrafted by artisans with sustainable materials and then meticulously laminated at our mill in Japan. Get the glow up: SHOP Island Raffia in 1747 Portofino Natural (photo by Matt Albiani)

Kemble Interiors Key To Chic Resort Style: Linen Wallcovering
Resort style can be describes as beachy, tropical or coastal. It's casual, colorful, and a little bit whimsical. When designing a space, Celerie strives to balance the aesthetic integrity of each project with the needs and personality of the client. And if there’s one thing she knows, looking brand-new has an expiration date. She chooses texture over clean minimalism, and says, “Beautiful variations accommodate natural imperfections and make everything harmonious.”

Phillip Jeffries wallcoverings have always been one of Kemble’s primary tools, even since she started years ago designing for friends as a hobby.

“When I was first working in New York, my enemy was drywall.”

Celerie is drawn toward PJ’s woven products, grass, cotton and linen fibers, because, “they add a warmth and a substantial feel to a wall and they’re luminous, but not reflective.” Below, Celerie wraps the primary bedroom in a client's home in Phillip Jeffries Seaside Linen wallcovering. Inspired by casual, gauzy linens with a heathered feel,  this textile wallcoverings and adds warmth and texture to your walls. Get the look of this tranquil bedroom: SHOP Seaside Linen in 5556 Mermaid Fin, (Photo by Carmel Brantley Photography) 



Shades of turquoise create a calm corner in this coastal bedroom. SHOP Seaside Linen in 5556 Mermaid Fin, (Photos by Carmel Brantley Photography)

Tour Gasparilla Inn's Beach Club
As far as icons of resort chic, this classic "old Florida" resort is at the top of the list! Recently revamped by Kemble Interiors, the over 100-year-old walls of the Gasparilla Inn Beach Club in Boca Grande, can age gracefully beneath the woven natural fibers of Phillip Jeffries’ Diamond Weave. Crafted by artisans, natural paper is dyed prior to weaving to create this virtually seamless wallcovering. 


This paper weave wallcovering has a subtle checkered diamond design that adds texture and dimension to the walls while also acting as the perfect backdrop for the tropical melange of art. Stunning sea glass chandeliers and art installations add a twinkle of delight to the Beach Club while the vibrant furnishing pack a punch. Don't miss the impressive shell-encrusted fireplace!




Bring vacation vibes home with this seamless tropical resort look: SHOP Diamond Weave in 1866 Natural, (Photos by Carmel Brantley Photography)

Why Celerie Loves Wallcovering Samples
A fantastic design tool, Celerie shares wallcovering samples of grasscloth, naturals, and linen wallcovering to help clients buy into her vision. "They can really see the textures and fibers and how it works with the light. This allows me to take the next step in the design process in a way I can’t really do with paint or other wallpapers." 

In Florida, where Kemble Interiors was first established in 1982 and where many of their projects live, the weather and humidity are a large factor in the design. When clients mention their walls crack behind paint, wallpaper is a fantastic option! 

“The elements are always working to destroy or encroach,” and so Celerie has relied on Phillip Jeffries wallcoverings that allow the walls to live and breathe – expand, contract, and crack – beneath a pristine cover.


My Favorite Room to Add Wallcovering: The Powder Bath
Celerie has a romantic notion of wallcovering in powder rooms. The once-overlooked powder room is the perfect opportunity to give guests a WOW moment. Below, Celerie used a rich, jewel-toned Phillip Jeffries grasscloth. SHOP Manila Hemp in 5255 Violet Crafted of the finest natural materials, grasscloth wallcovering adds dimension to any space and panels beautifully. “I think it’s a powerful place in someone’s home, because it’s for guests and you’re taking care of them even when you’re not with them.”

"It’s also the first room where my clients are willing to get brave!"

The Power of The Powder Bathroom
When designing a bathroom, Celerie will stare into the mirror and the lighting can either make you feel really good about how you look and make you feel great or really bad and start questioning how you’ve been presenting yourself to all of these people out there. Wallcovering a small room like this can create a kind of cocoon to just collect yourself, maybe use a nice smelling soap, take a few breaths, in until you’re ready to go back out there. She wants to make sure guests have a really good experience in there.

"Powder bathrooms are perfect places for moments of self reflection, and literal reflection," she says. "When you’re pulled out of a social environment, maybe a loud one, and into a quiet moment of repose."

For a home in Palm Beach with global-inspired decor, this Kemble-designed powder room was covered in Gaucho Cloth, Twilight Blue.  A popular Phillip Jeffries textile wallcovering offered in several colorways, Gaucho Cloth is inspired by rustic tapestries with fringe and stripes for added flair.


Navy blue adds drama to this powder room in Florida. SHOP Gaucho Cloth in 1028 Twilight Blue (Photo by Carmel Brantley Photography)

Find More Coastal Inspo:
See more of Celerie's work and the firm's resort-style inspiration on Kemble Interiors Instagram.


Interior photos by Matt Albiani, Carmel Brantley, and Mayflower Portraits. Interior design by Kemble Interiors.