For three decades, husband and wife team Tim and Kit Kemp have been enlivening the London landscape with their Firmdale Hotels properties, known for their vibrant, art-filled, and idiosyncratic designs. Several years ago, the duo made the first of their spirited incursions into the Manhattan scene with the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo. This year, they’ve planted the flag farther uptown with the Whitby, an 86-room boutique blocks from Central Park and the Museum of Modern Art that opened in March.
Covering 16 floors, the Whitby (named for a seaside town in northern England) is something of a rarity in the city, a new build in the midst of some venerable old structures. New York’s Stonehill & Taylor “chose a modern, clean-lined limestone building aesthetic in lieu of SoHo’s more informal brick,” says Paul Taylor, the firm’s president. The neighborhood’s “signature Crittall steel windows and marquee details were retained to provide continuity,” he adds. Those large windows and numerous terraces and balconies allow for abundant light and a suggestion of the activity within. “Midtown needed us,” says co-owner and design director Kit Kemp. “We wanted to get as far as possible from corporate, and I think we succeeded.”
Kemp’s design philosophy is one of surprise and delight. “Walking into [a hotel] should be a bit of an adventure,” she says, and the Whitby is a veritable wonderland of unexpected choices, art objects, and imaginative nooks. Take, for example, the collection of baskets—52 in all—above the 30-foot-long pewter lobby bar; each comes from a UK country, and each once had a practical purpose, from collecting oysters to selling flowers. A booklet provided by the hotel guides guests through the provenance of the baskets with such charming names as Potato Cob and Sussex Trug.
Original art also receives pride of place in Firmdale Hotels, and the Whitby is no exception. Kemp favors living artists for her rooms—including a reading room, drawing room, and private event space—such as a the young Hermione Skye’s woven loom hanging from the lobby ceiling and, in the Orangery restaurant, two huge custom wrought-iron chandeliers by Tyson Bennison that include perky brass parrots and toucans from the 1970s. On the wall are 40 porcelain vessels, hand-etched with images of some of New York’s most famous landmarks. Antique ceramic platters from the Victorian era also hang here, as well as in the lobby bar. Another work of art: the signature screening room, this one royal blue with bright orange seats. “We love our cinemas,” Kemp points out.
The guestrooms, which showcase a range of color and patterns seamlessly mixed by Kemp, feature textured walls and oversized headboards embroidered by contemporary artists. “The art comes from everywhere, not just America, but also England, Holland, France, Africa,” says Kemp, “We only work on one project at a time. We don’t mass-produce, so each [hotel] takes a great deal of time. I hope it shows that.”
