It's Book Week on the Temple & Webster blog! We're giving lots of books away, just in time for relaxed holiday reading in January. To kick off the week, we're lucky enough to have two copies of 'A Living Space" (published by Hardie Grant) by Kit Kemp, acclaimed international designer and owner with her husband Tim of several stylish hotels including the Covent Garden Hotel in London and the Crosby Street Hotel in downtown New York. Leave a comment for your chance to win - full details at the bottom of the post. 

In 'A Living Space', Kit takes the reader on a truly inspiring journey through the many spaces she has designed and shares her passions for fabric, embroidery, wood and stone alongside her inventive way of mixing old and new, the crafted and the contemporary.  Confident enough to be playful and irreverent, Kit Kemp knows how to have fun with design, and it shows. Here, in an extract from the book (pictured below), she takes us through her philosophy.



If pressed to describe my style – something I never like to do because it seems to no longer allow for any change in the future – I would say it is carefree and colourful. My aim as a designer is to make surroundings a joyful thing – to bring in elements of intrigue and curiosity that creates a sense of adventure and fun. This is not to be mistaken for gimmickry however – comfort and quality are at the core too.

Some designers are led by their love of line and architecture, others by client relationships or the latest technologies. My inspiration comes from a love of fabrics, I texture, colour and tone, whatever age or geographical origin; they are very often the start of my creative process.

I tend to design around stimulating and inspiring the senses.



SIGHT
I like to play up the individuality of each room: the way the light bounces around it, the view outside its windows, the depth and breadth of its dimensions and proportions. Next, I think about colour, because for me colour is everything. Solid hues, bold patterns, and subtle undertones – it is what constantly inspires me and it is definitely never something to fear.

I also like to introduce colour into a room through objects – one key piece can provide a focal point in a room, and the ambience of the space can radiate out from it. Against a neutral backdrop, I like to throw in colour-dipped pieces of vintage furniture, collections of luminescent glassware, or a generous armful of printed and embellished cushions.



SOUND
When the window is open, the birds will sing, the trees will blow in the wind and the rain will patter against the windowpane. Each in their own way, help to enhance the beauty of a space – but sometimes designing a room can be about eliminating the sound of traffic outside or the noise of a neighbour above or below.  Good window insulation and soft furnishings that absorb unwanted noise are essential to the harmony of any room.

SMELL
Often it is the invisible things such as smell that creates a sense of true luxury in a space. I love the smell of soap suds, for example, and my idea of ultimate luxury is having bouquets of freshly-picked honeysuckle, jasmine, lavender or roses from the garden warmed by the sunshine outside, to fill the air with delicious scent inside.



TASTE
Creating a dining space is about stimulating both the taste buds and scintillating conversation. In a dining room, I always aim to create an environment where people want to sit, linger, enjoy, unwind. Dining spaces are no longer formal, foreboding rooms which are only used for special occasions.

A good chair is essential – comfortable, easy to manoeuvre and non-intrusive (I prefer a low-back that doesn't interfere with the eye's line of a room). Also, a handsome simple table that can multi-task – homework, meetings, long lunches, grown-up dinners, letter writing, girlie nattering – is vital for accommodating the myriad of modern day demands expected of it.



TOUCH
To me, the best interiors are those which infuse different textures and unexpected details within the room. Like rope or contrast-colour cording on chairs and ottomans, bold buttoning or intriguing skirting on sofas, mixed materials like marble or glass with metal legs on tables, and mixing up eras like fifties modernist lines with bold batik or ikat prints.



FUN
Finally, my sixth sense: a sense of FUN. I have always been drawn to things that are alive with wit and a bit of eccentricity – things that make me laugh. With each and every room I design I want to pique people's curiosity. Little collections of mad objects, like childhood artworks, unusual figurines, or colourful ceramic pots, grouped together and encased in Perspex can suddenly take on a whole new meaning and become interesting and witty display of their own accord.

All images courtesy of Hardie Grant.

For your chance to win one copy of 'A Living Space' by Kit Kemp, leave a comment on this post before 5pm on Saturday 15th December (AEDT). You must be a member of Temple & Webster to enter, and you may only enter once. Temple & Webster will choose our two favourite comments, and each winner will win one copy of the book. The two winners will be notified on Monday 17th December at the email address attached to their Temple & Webster account. We'll send the books out as soon as we can so you can enjoy some holiday reading. Good luck! 

Update 17.12.2012: Congratulations to Lorraine and Anita, who have each won a copy of A Living Space by Kit Kemp. I've emailed you both separately. - Victoria