Black And White (And A Bit In Between)

A while back I had the privilege to interview Celerie Kemble about her new book Black and White (and a Bit in Between) for Family Circle magazine (see below). First, let me say that both times I have interviewed her Celerie Kemble is the nicest, most pleasant designer to interview--and highly quotable too!

There was one piece of advice that didn't make it into the story that I loved. She suggested photographing colorful rooms in black and white to get a sense of the various gradations at play. Kemble noted that it it’s an excellent way to assess whether the colors are too middle-tone or too stark/high-contrast -- taking away the distraction of color helps the eye make a quicker judgment about other elements.

After speaking with Kemble, I was even more interested in Black and White (and a Bit in Between). This is not a book of Kemble's work, rather it's a collection of the work of other designers that she admires. Included are many rooms I had seen before and loved (hello, Thomas O'Brien, I'm talking to you!) and others that were new to me. Kemble said that she wanted to explore the limited palette of black and white because it is such a far cry from the color-on-color interiors for which she is best known. Kemble wrote the book to learn and explore, and it make the book all the more interesting.  If like me, you love a simple palette and timeless interiors, you'll enjoy this book* and likely find a lot of inspiration within its pages.

(*Confession, I haven't seen the book itself, but rather a pdf of its pages.)