The Refuel Café: A Creative Collaboration with Firmdale
16 June 2025
ShareBy Catherine Milner - Treasure House Fair Magazine Editor
This summer, Treasure House Fair at the Royal Hospital Chelsea brings together the world of fine art, antiques, and design with one of London’s most creative hospitality companies: Firmdale Hotels. At the centre of this partnership is The Soho Hotel’s Refuel Café, overlooking the Royal Hospital Chelsea gardens on the north side of the pavilion - a vibrant dining space created by the Kit Kemp Design Studio and infused with the spirit of summer and the enduring charm of English art and craft.
Key to the partnership is Willow Kemp, Art Ambassador for Firmdale Hotels, Design Director at Kit Kemp Design Studio and daughter of the company’s founders, Tim and Kit Kemp.
This summer, Treasure House Fair at the Royal Hospital Chelsea brings together the world of fine art, antiques, and design with one of London’s most creative hospitality companies: Firmdale Hotels. At the centre of this partnership is The Soho Hotel’s Refuel Café, overlooking the Royal Hospital Chelsea gardens on the north side of the pavilion - a vibrant dining space created by the Kit Kemp Design Studio and infused with the spirit of summer and the enduring charm of English art and craft.
Key to the partnership is Willow Kemp, Art Ambassador for Firmdale Hotels, Design Director at Kit Kemp Design Studio and daughter of the company’s founders, Tim and Kit Kemp.
“An artwork can dictate the colour palette of the entire hotel,” says Willow, “and we’ve always been so proud of championing craft”. That belief runs through every detail of the Café’s interiors and connects naturally with the Fair’s mission to honour the value of art, antiques, and design.
Willow Kemp. Courtesy of Firmdale Hotels. Photo by Simon Brown.
Willow’s personal design journey has been shaped by her upbringing in the English countryside. “If you don’t go too far from nature in the main colours you use in an interior, you won’t go far wrong,” she says. The new Refuel Café embodies that pastoral spirit. Dressed in enchanting Mythical Land wallpaper created by Kit Kemp in collaboration with Andrew Martin, the Café features colourful ceramics, olive trees, hand-crafted lighting, and a palette inspired by the summer solstice. The food is equally vibrant; visitors can enjoy an à la carte menu celebrating British produce and summer flavours, including a selection of seasonal salads and tarts, as well as larger plates including burrata with summer heritage tomatoes, chilli and oregano and rare roast beef, horseradish and watercress. Timeless English desserts such as lemon tart and Eton Mess will also be served as well as traditional afternoon tea. Treasure House cocktails have been specially crafted in honour of iconic artists, like Gin Lane, inspired by William Hogarth - a fragrant mixture of East London Kew Gin, elderflower, rosé and dry white wine.
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Refuel Café. Courtesy of Firmdale Hotels.
Visitors to the Treasure House Fair can enjoy special offers at four Firmdale Hotels during the event: The Soho, Ham Yard, and Knightsbridge Hotels. Each represents a different facet of the Firmdale aesthetic - all sharing a deep commitment to what Kit Kemp calls the five ‘C’s’: “colour, comfort, craft, character and curation.”
Firmdale Hotels has long sourced art and furniture from art fairs, blending antiques with contemporary design to create richly decorated spaces layered in history, humour and warmth. Folk art from all around the world is key - from Portugal and Spain to South America and Australia - creating the warm yet vibrant handmade aesthetic that runs through all of Firmdale’s 11 hotels in London and New York.
“Antique furniture really grounds a room,” Willow explains. “And books can make a space seem timeless.” At Firmdale’s Ham Yard Hotel, a striking example of this can be found in a beautifully preserved hand painted 18th century Swedish armoire in the drawing room, flanked by walls of brightly coloured tomes.
Willow Kemp. Courtesy of Firmdale Hotels. Photo by Simon Brown.
Willow’s personal design journey has been shaped by her upbringing in the English countryside. “If you don’t go too far from nature in the main colours you use in an interior, you won’t go far wrong,” she says. The new Refuel Café embodies that pastoral spirit. Dressed in enchanting Mythical Land wallpaper created by Kit Kemp in collaboration with Andrew Martin, the Café features colourful ceramics, olive trees, hand-crafted lighting, and a palette inspired by the summer solstice. The food is equally vibrant; visitors can enjoy an à la carte menu celebrating British produce and summer flavours, including a selection of seasonal salads and tarts, as well as larger plates including burrata with summer heritage tomatoes, chilli and oregano and rare roast beef, horseradish and watercress. Timeless English desserts such as lemon tart and Eton Mess will also be served as well as traditional afternoon tea. Treasure House cocktails have been specially crafted in honour of iconic artists, like Gin Lane, inspired by William Hogarth - a fragrant mixture of East London Kew Gin, elderflower, rosé and dry white wine.
Refuel Café. Courtesy of Firmdale Hotels.
Visitors to the Treasure House Fair can enjoy special offers at four Firmdale Hotels during the event: The Soho, Ham Yard, and Knightsbridge Hotels. Each represents a different facet of the Firmdale aesthetic - all sharing a deep commitment to what Kit Kemp calls the five ‘C’s’: “colour, comfort, craft, character and curation.”
Firmdale Hotels has long sourced art and furniture from art fairs, blending antiques with contemporary design to create richly decorated spaces layered in history, humour and warmth. Folk art from all around the world is key - from Portugal and Spain to South America and Australia - creating the warm yet vibrant handmade aesthetic that runs through all of Firmdale’s 11 hotels in London and New York.
“Antique furniture really grounds a room,” Willow explains. “And books can make a space seem timeless.” At Firmdale’s Ham Yard Hotel, a striking example of this can be found in a beautifully preserved hand painted 18th century Swedish armoire in the drawing room, flanked by walls of brightly coloured tomes.
Library at The Soho Hotel. Photo by Michalina Franasik.
The company’s curatorial sensibility is particularly vivid at The Soho Hotel. Guests entering the lobby are greeted by a ten-foot bronze sculpture of a giant black cat by Fernando Botero—a playful and monumental gesture capturing the hotel’s bold artistic vision that couples established artists with emerging ones. Just beyond it, the Refuel Bar and Restaurant– that inspired the new café - is wrapped in a vibrant mural by Alexander Hollweg, inspired by Rousseau’s jungle paintings and the building’s former life as a car park. “We used the idea of old cars being reclaimed by the jungle,” Willow recalls. “It’s been the backdrop to a lot of fun times.” At Ham Yard Hotel, a lush urban courtyard garden, complete with five mature oak trees, is lit up by a 12 foot high Tony Cragg bronze sculpture and the library is dominated by a magnificent painting of ‘Ploughing On The South Coast’ by 19th-century artist Lucy Kemp-Welch. The Omega Workshops’ influence can be felt in the decorative detail and paintings by Duncan Grant, Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry in the Charlotte Street Hotel. Knightsbridge Hotel offers a more intimate, residential feel. “If you want to feel like a local, you should stay here,” says Willow. “They are cute jewels of rooms.” Many open onto Beaufort Gardens, reinforcing the hotel’s balance of English charm and artistic expression. “All of our artistic collaborations have a bit of back and forth,” Willow says, “to create an element of surprise and magic.”
Hanging above the mantlepiece in the library is a bird’s eye painting of the Hampshire countryside by Dire Straits’ co-founder, John Illsley and in the lobby a magnificent abstract by Australian artist Graham Fransella. Each hotel is like an artist’s canvas—filled with curated objects, custom-made textiles, and site-specific commissions. This curatorial spirit is evident throughout the company’s portfolio—from Mimi la Biarritz’s sculptures made of playing cards to Peter Clark’s playful dog collages referencing The Beano and other cultural icons.
The company’s curatorial sensibility is particularly vivid at The Soho Hotel. Guests entering the lobby are greeted by a ten-foot bronze sculpture of a giant black cat by Fernando Botero—a playful and monumental gesture capturing the hotel’s bold artistic vision that couples established artists with emerging ones. Just beyond it, the Refuel Bar and Restaurant– that inspired the new café - is wrapped in a vibrant mural by Alexander Hollweg, inspired by Rousseau’s jungle paintings and the building’s former life as a car park. “We used the idea of old cars being reclaimed by the jungle,” Willow recalls. “It’s been the backdrop to a lot of fun times.” At Ham Yard Hotel, a lush urban courtyard garden, complete with five mature oak trees, is lit up by a 12 foot high Tony Cragg bronze sculpture and the library is dominated by a magnificent painting of ‘Ploughing On The South Coast’ by 19th-century artist Lucy Kemp-Welch. The Omega Workshops’ influence can be felt in the decorative detail and paintings by Duncan Grant, Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry in the Charlotte Street Hotel. Knightsbridge Hotel offers a more intimate, residential feel. “If you want to feel like a local, you should stay here,” says Willow. “They are cute jewels of rooms.” Many open onto Beaufort Gardens, reinforcing the hotel’s balance of English charm and artistic expression. “All of our artistic collaborations have a bit of back and forth,” Willow says, “to create an element of surprise and magic.”
Hanging above the mantlepiece in the library is a bird’s eye painting of the Hampshire countryside by Dire Straits’ co-founder, John Illsley and in the lobby a magnificent abstract by Australian artist Graham Fransella. Each hotel is like an artist’s canvas—filled with curated objects, custom-made textiles, and site-specific commissions. This curatorial spirit is evident throughout the company’s portfolio—from Mimi la Biarritz’s sculptures made of playing cards to Peter Clark’s playful dog collages referencing The Beano and other cultural icons.
Refuel Restaurant at The Soho Hotel. Photo by Michalina Franasik.
Firmdale’s eye for detail extends into product design too: lighting, tableware, and furniture are often custom-designed by Willow, who studied architecture at St John’s College at the University of Cambridge and sculpture at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. “I was really looking to break the straight lines and computer-aided imagery in design,” she says. “And it’s the detail that matters.”
With floral wallpaper, artisan crockery, and a menu celebrating British summer flavours, Refuel Café at the Treasure House Fair is a perfect distillation of the Firmdale spirit—welcoming, whimsical, and unmistakably individual. And for those seeking to continue the experience beyond the fairgrounds, the doors of The Soho, Haymarket, Ham Yard, and Knightsbridge hotels are open, ready to offer guests not just a stay, but an artistic immersion.
Firmdale’s eye for detail extends into product design too: lighting, tableware, and furniture are often custom-designed by Willow, who studied architecture at St John’s College at the University of Cambridge and sculpture at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. “I was really looking to break the straight lines and computer-aided imagery in design,” she says. “And it’s the detail that matters.”
With floral wallpaper, artisan crockery, and a menu celebrating British summer flavours, Refuel Café at the Treasure House Fair is a perfect distillation of the Firmdale spirit—welcoming, whimsical, and unmistakably individual. And for those seeking to continue the experience beyond the fairgrounds, the doors of The Soho, Haymarket, Ham Yard, and Knightsbridge hotels are open, ready to offer guests not just a stay, but an artistic immersion.