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Kemble Interiors Reveals Whimsical New Spaces for Colony Hotel in Palm Beach

The spirited renovation includes custom de Gournay wallpaper, a new guest villa by Aerin Lauder, Swifty's poolside boîte, and art installation from Voltz Clarke Gallery

By Jill Sieracki
Pink-themed living room with tropical flora and fauna wall mural, elegant furniture, and a central decorative fireplace.
The Living Room lobby at the Colony Palm Beach, designed by Kemble Interiors, features a tropical custom de Gournay wall covering. Photo: Carmel Brantley

Known since its 1947 opening as “the pinkest boutique hotel in Palm Beach,” the Colony is now blushing bright with a spirited redesign courtesy of Kemble Interiors. Completed in January, the ‘Living Room’ lobby features a custom de Gournay wallpaper inspired by a vintage postcard discovered by Colony owner Sarah Wetenhall.

“The entry lobby was the perfect place to create a welcoming new living room since all of the necessary architectural items were there,” says Kemble Interiors founder Mimi McMakin, who worked alongside the firm’s Cece Bowman and Mackenzie Hodgson to create the space. “The height of the room would easily accommodate a jungle mural of hand-painted flora and fauna depicted in the wonderfully whimsical Palm Beach style.”

Vintage-style room with rattan chairs, pink flamingo wallpaper, palm plants, and an elegant chandelier.
A custom de Gournay wallpaper in the Kemble Interiors designed lobby of the Colony Palm Beach. Photo: Carmel Brantley
Elegant tropical-themed room with ornate chairs, green cushions, and lush plants surrounding a decorative mirror and wall art.
A hand carved floor-to-ceiling pagoda creates a dynamic focal point for the Kemble Interiors conceived Living Room lobby at the Colony hotel in Palm Beach. Photo: Carmel Brantley

With a shell pink backdrop that echoes the 89-room hotel’s iconic exterior, the cheerful de Gournay wallpaper is dotted with hidden moments of jaunty South Florida fun. Illustrations of indigenous flowers and plants stretch from floor to ceiling, offering playful perches for tropical birds, lurking alligators, and diamond-adorned panthers. The hotel’s spider monkey mascot, Johnnie Brown, waves a Colony pennant. “It was most important for the furniture and the mural to form a partnership,” says McMakin, a Palm Beach native. “Alligators, birds, turtles and flying fish, all were strategically placed so none were able to hide.”

Tropical-themed wallpaper with palm trees and a wild cat behind a bamboo bar, pink birds in the sky, and flowers on the bar.
The custom de Gournay wallpaper combines South Florida flora and fauna with wilder moments, including panthers and flocks of tropical birds. Photo: Carmel Brantley

The de Gournay wallcovering indeed incorporates images of the many vintage furnishings that dot the grand space, creating a Mary Poppins-like feeling of floating within the art. “When planning the mural, we would have been remiss to not delight the eye with a sense of play,” says McMakin. “The peacock chairs and the vintage wicker chair are both available for a guest to sit, but we wanted the mural to feel like the room had no physical walls and continued into a space that blurred the constraints of reality and imagination.”

Elegant room with jungle-themed wallpaper, featuring a monkey and tropical plants, and a white table with a floral arrangement.
“We wanted the mural to feel like the room had no physical walls and continued into a space that blurred the constraints of reality and imagination,” says Kemble Interiors designer Mimi McMakin Photo: Carmel Brantley
Pink-accented room with tropical wallpaper, plush velvet chair, elegant staircase, and hanging chandelier.
The hotel’s iconic pink exterior was echoed in the interior in plush soft seating and the custom de Gournay mural, handpainted on a pink Edo Xuan paper. Photo: Carmel Brantley

The masterful mix of furniture and wallpaper sets a jubilant scene, particularly where it surrounds a towering new hand-carved mantel—a three-tiered pagoda topped with three-dimensional roofs edged in a trimming of wooden bells. “The mantel is a nod to chinoiserie style and to the architecture of Brighton Pavilion, which has been a favorite reference in folly architecture in gardens across Palm Beach,” explains McMakin.

Elegant room with tropical wallpaper, palm plant, chandelier, and pink velvet chairs on a shiny floor.
A quiet seating area of pink velvet on bamboo lattice is surmounted by a glamorous Art Deco glass chandelier. Photo: Carmel Brantley
Dog holding a watering can in mouth surrounded by lush green plants and yellow flowers in a garden setting.
“When planning the mural, we would have been remiss to not delight the eye with a sense of play,” says Kemble Interiors designer Mimi McMakin of the custom de Gournay wallcover created specifically for the Colony Palm Beach lobby redesign. Photo: Carmel Brantley

Further supporting the wondrous atmosphere are palm-shaped golden sconces and a stunning Art Deco glass chandelier that captures the essence of a robust canopy of palm leaves. The fixture’s twinkling lights are reflected in the original black terrazzo floor, which was reinstalled during the restoration of the landmarked property.

“We wanted each element to intertwine and coalesce as though naturally connected,” says the designer. “The mural and the mantel are both ideas we dreamed and brought to life. Both elements take the rigid geometry away from an otherwise square lobby and create a depth and perception shift. The result is an almost wall-less room that lets fantasy and garden take over.”

Elegant room with tropical mural, palm trees, and pink floral wallpaper, featuring white fireplace and comfortable seating.
The Living Room lobby at the Colony Palm Beach, designed by Kemble Interiors, features a tropical custom de Gournay wall covering and newly crafted towering pagoda mantle. Photo: Carmel Brantley

Also included in the extensive refurbishment is the AERIN Villa Jasmine, a new 2,100-square-foot escape curated by tastemaker Aerin Lauder that offers its own private entrance, two master suites, living and dining areas, and direct access to a bucolic fountained courtyard. New York high-society hot spot Swifty’s is set to open a waterside hangout offering lunch, dinner, and drinks as well as live music. SMI Landscape Architecture has cultivated the secluded East Garden event space, while New York’s Voltz Clarke Gallery is mounting “Variations,” an exhibition of linear paintings by artist Joshua Avery Webster, on view in the solarium throughout the Palm Beach season. Additionally, a work entitled Hammon Avenue by Voltz Clarke artist Bradley Sabin adorns the Colony mezzanine, surrounding a scalloped-back love seat upholstered in an exuberant print featuring a swirl of 150 sculptural magnolia blossoms.

Combined, the hotel shines in all its luxuriant glory while keeping its bon vivant air graciously intact. See more of the refreshed interior below.

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Kemble Interiors Reveals New Spaces at the Colony Palm Beach

Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Photograph by Lesley Unruh
Stylish living room with a floral-patterned sofa, round mirror, wicker chairs, and vibrant flower arrangement on the table.
Bright bedroom with white bed, patterned curtains, fireplace, and decorative mirror.
Cozy bedroom with a large bed, floral patterned curtains, pink woven chair, and elegant decor.
Bright bedroom with patterned blue wallpaper, cozy bed, decorative chair, bench, and natural light from arched window.
Dining room with glass table, wicker chairs, tropical plants, woven chandelier, and yellow wall art.
Bright, airy living room with wicker furniture, green accents, large windows, and indoor plants.
Luxurious tropical poolside area with sun loungers, lush green plants, and a serene swimming pool surrounded by palm trees.
Tropical poolside scene with green lounge chairs, striped umbrellas, palm trees, and a sunny sky in the background.
Stylish living room with a floral-patterned sofa, round mirror, wicker chairs, and vibrant flower arrangement on the table.
Bright bedroom with white bed, patterned curtains, fireplace, and decorative mirror.
Cozy bedroom with a large bed, floral patterned curtains, pink woven chair, and elegant decor.
Bright bedroom with patterned blue wallpaper, cozy bed, decorative chair, bench, and natural light from arched window.
Dining room with glass table, wicker chairs, tropical plants, woven chandelier, and yellow wall art.
Bright, airy living room with wicker furniture, green accents, large windows, and indoor plants.
Luxurious tropical poolside area with sun loungers, lush green plants, and a serene swimming pool surrounded by palm trees.
Tropical poolside scene with green lounge chairs, striped umbrellas, palm trees, and a sunny sky in the background.