Known for her fun, colorful, and beautiful designs, Cece Bowman has earned a reputation of being easy to work with and for bringing a truly detailed and personalized approach to every project.  After New York School of Interior Design, Cece moved to Palm Beach, Florida and spent the next 13 years at Kemble Interiors before founding her own interior design firm in 2024.  Her work has taken her throughout the US — in particular Florida, Texas, Maine, and Pennsylvania, as well as Antigua.

Today we are delighted to welcome Cece to The Glam Pad to learn more about her exciting career path and discuss all things Palm Beach Chic.  We will also be exploring a beautiful West Palm Beach home she designed with architecture by Austin DePree of Northworks, where whimsey and color abound! Despite being new construction, Cece’s clients were clear that they wanted loads of color, “almost no white,”  and an overall look that was cohesive but not “matchy-matchy.” The house was built around a central courtyard, turning the house towards its center and inviting the inside in.

Let’s take a look with photography by Carmel Brantley, and design by Cece Bowman for Kemble Interiors.

Welcome, Cece!

Q: Where did you grow up, and when did you first become interested in interior design?

A:  I grew up in a small town called Woodstock, VT where we skied most days of the year, and made snowmen in the dark evenings after school…so surprisingly I first became interested in design through Caribbean architecture. Our family would travel to St. Barth every spring to visit friends. The detached structures with open walkways and the humid air funneling through breezeways and courtyards were dreamy to me. So I began to sketch, build, and dream up my fantasy of one day living in a tropical place.

Q: Tell us about your career path. Did you take a traditional path to becoming an interior designer? How did you land in Palm Beach?

A:  I studied architecture beginning at the age of 14 at Deerfield Academy, and instead of afternoon sports I elected to participate in an architectural design mentorship. From there I received an architecture minor from Trinity College and ultimately completed a 2 year associates degree at the New York school of Interior Design. I ended up moving to Palm Beach for many of the reasons I mention in question 1 – I was ready for warm weather, was interested in tropical homes, and realized Palm Beach was a vibrant small town with a lot to offer from a design perspective. St. Barth was a bit of a stretch! Haha.

Q: How do you define your style, and how does living in Palm Beach influence your aesthetic?

A:  My style is traditionally based, but fun, colorful and comfortable. While you see various styles in Palm Beach, the bottom line is that the designs can be playful and exceptionally detailed. Even the most serious Mizner house can have a lot of whimsy and surprises. We are lucky to have experienced and creative craftsmen and women who shape what we are able to offer our clients. Most of our details are made specifically for a project, instead of being products that are mass produced. These resources have shaped my designs because there is no limit to our creativity.

Q: What are five design elements that best represent Palm Beach Style?

A:  Five elements that represent palm beach style are:
1. Using pretty colors
2. Relying on nature as a resource (leaf detailing, murals, bamboo furniture)
3. Indoor-outdoor living
4. Lighthearted and interesting details applied to ordinary objects (carved doors, lattice walls), and
5. Using vintage furniture from the beloved Dixie highway shops.

Q: What is the wisest piece of industry advice you ever received?

A:  Oh gosh, I have received so much wonderful advice over the years. My mentor Mimi McMakin would say – always return a phone call. Looking back now on her comment, I believe it highlights how important it is to foster good relationships with the people in the industry that we work with every single day. We live in a small town and we are only as good as our team of vendors, suppliers, and artisans. We work with these people year in and year out to make our clients’ dreams come true.

Q: What are some timeless design elements that every room should have?

A:  Good art, pretty curtains, rugs that are scaled for the room and fluffy throw pillows.

Q: What are your favorite design or coffee table books?

A:  I love Home: The Residential Architecture of D. Stanley Dixon. He has a great sense of detail in his millwork and decorative details.
I also love de Gournay: Hand \-Painted Interiors – the cover on its own is delicious.

Q: Please tell us about your brand collaborations, and what else are you working on next that we can look forward to?

A:  There is so much going on in the design community in Palm Beach! We are working on a few new things but a past collaboration with Fleur to design the Coco Palm Mirror was so much fun and especially rewarding when we saw it in the new Asha shop on S. County!

Q: When you aren’t busy designing, how do you enjoy spending your time?

A:  My life really revolves around a few things – My family, my projects and the endless pursuit of design research. My husband, Nick, and I just celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary and we have three daughters, ages 3, 5, and 8. Spending time with them is everything I need to feel complete. Nick and I also manage an ever-evolving personal project that we refer to as the Guest House, it is a 1950’s cottage where we love to host design-centric guests who are visiting West Palm Beach. He and I decorated this house together over the summer of 2023 – you can check it out at www.theguesthouse325.com.

Thank you, Cece, for joining us today! We are such huge fans of your chic style and cannot wait to explore more of your work!

To learn more please visit Cece Bowman Interiors and follow @cecebowman on Instagram for ongoing inspiration.