Talk Shop: Kimberley Miller // Duncan Miller Design
Photo by Stewart Cohen
ABOUT KIMBERLEY
Kimberley Miller, co-founder and Design Principal at Duncan & Miller Design, has an unmatched flair for drama, refined elegance, and acute attention to detail. A well-known industry style leader, Miller’s portfolio includes award-winning interior design for exclusive hotels and resorts around the globe, as well as inviting dining venues where celebrity chefs showcase their cuisine.
Kimberley has worked on projects of all sizes across the entire brand landscape for Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Fairmont, as well as designing for international luxury brands such as Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Autograph, and Westin; curated bespoke Lifestyle/boutique properties, such as The Curtain Hotel & Members Club in London and the growing Hotel ZaZa portfolio; and timeless retreats like the Sandpearl Resort Clearwater Beach and Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation in Georgia. Notable recent projects include The Stella, a funky boutique hotel in Texas, and the renovation of the iconic Fairmont in Dallas, Texas. Kimberley led the creation of two new unique lifestyle hotels, in which she and her team have been significant players in developing the brand identity, The Draper in New York and The Burgess in Buckhead, Georgia.
In addition to the hotels, Kimberley has created iconic dining destinations inside each Hotel ZaZa property – Dragonfly in Dallas; Monarch Restaurant in Houston Museum District City; and Tipping Point in Houston Memorial City, and the restaurants and bars within the newest Hotel Zaza location, in Austin. Miller collaborated with Marcus Samuelsson to design Red Rooster in London. Most recently, Kimberley and her team were charged with creating the prototype for Taffer’s Tavern, for Jon Taffer, of Bar Rescue fame. Kimberley has been commissioned to design many different types of residences which have led to her most recent venture, Kimberley Miller Design Studio. We sat down with the designer to chat all things interiors – check it out below!
Describe your style in three words or less:
Twisted, classic, perfection.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
Global travel, fashion, art.
How did you start your company, and/or what is your favorite thing about what you do:
My love for creating spaces people crave and I have never had the same day twice.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
Turner Duncan whom I collaborated with for 28 years.
What does your home say about you:
Curated and collected - reflects a personal style of unique and interesting pieces that I love and want to share. I strive to have spaces that feel welcoming and comfortable that my guests want to be in and return to.
Where do you find inspiration:
Really everywhere! I love studying the set designs in movies and television and looking at the details. Retail and fashion, elaborate retail window design, theater sets, jewelry has influenced some of my decorative lighting creations.
Who are your style icons:
Jacques Garcia, Kit Kemp, Tony Duquette.
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
Elaborate food presentation that is delicious, entertainment of some sort appropriate for the event - can't be boring. Perfect warmth by the hostess - flowers/candles, light level, the right mix of interesting guests. Never overly formal - but elegant, stylish, and memorable.
Do you collect anything:
Art, shells, Barbies, bears, Santa's, Daum crystal, anything black and white.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
@ninatakesh, @tarashawdesign, @pulpdesigns, @studioshamshiri, @meyerdavis, @chairishbydesign, @calebadesign.
What design "rule" do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
Six sides of the box is the rule I always follow. I always break the "matching" rule.
What are you working on right now:
The Pearl Hotel in Rosemary Beach, Residential Villas - Abaco, Highland Park, TX residence, and a residence in Memphis, TN.
Wardrobe staples:
Black tailored anything.
Favorite fabric/wallpaper:
Phillip Jeffries -Tulu Cloth, Clarence house Tibetan Tiger, Flavor Papers.
Best interior advice you ever received:
Trust your inner design voice/first instinct
Best career advice you ever received:
Be true to yourself and you will always be successful, and listen to your clients!
Types of home purchases you invest in:
Art and collectible objet d'art, unique classic furniture pieces - that are lifetime pieces.
Your greatest extravagance:
Art and shoes!
Favorite places to shop for home:
Estate sales, one of a kind home shops in different town cities, and Chairish.
Most prized possession and why:
My father's drawings from when he was a commercial artist.
Your interiors motto:
Be fearless and if you don't love it instantly - do not buy it!
Your life motto:
"The cream always rises to the top" and "Kindness and generosity will win the day."
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
Tear out a ton of magazine pictures and print design pages from blogs etc - pin up on a huge wall and stand back - and then edit - what do you love instantly? Group it - what are the commonalities?
Gravitate to what you will never become bored with.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: King Crab Legs
Drink: Martini, very dry with blue cheese olive
Film: American Gigolo, My Best Friend's Wedding, Pulp Fiction
Hotel: Splendido, Portofino Las Ventanas, Los Cabos, Any Zaza Hotel
City: Paris, Barcelona, New York, Carmel
Bedding: Peacock Alley
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Black or double espresso / Tea - southern sweet tea
Playlist: Bob Seger, James Taylor, Carol King, The Eagles, Tina Turner
Weekend Activity: Estate Sale shopping, cooking, entertaining, exploring
Design Book: Kit Kemp, A living space / Bunny Williams, An Affair with a House, Tony DuQuette