Legends of Design: Kelly Wearstler

Can one be a Legend of Design and still be alive? For this installation of Legends of Design, I say "yes."

Kelly Wearstler began her design journey after a stint working in motion picture art departments in Hollywood by opening up her eponymous studio in 1995. She soon met her future husband, Brad Korzen who hired her to design his own home as well as several properties owned by his real estate group, Kor Realty Group. She has since developed into a force in the industry. Known for her clothes and high heels as much as her interiors, Wearstler has mined several design styles, working in once-popular vernaculars and pretty much single-handedly bringing them back into the consciousness of the design community. Mid-Century Modern gave way to Hollywood Regency (previously mentioned here), beautifully profiled in her second book, Domicilium Decoratus: Hillcrest Estate, Beverly Hills, California.

This was my first complete exposure to Wearstler's work and I was dazzled. It is a profile of her own home, the Hillcrest Estate in Beverly Hills. The decor inside is full-on Hollywood Regency with a deft mix of antiques, vintage, and modern with touches of exotica.

Wearstler, maybe more than any other current interior designer, truly revels in what she does. One can tell by her creations that she truly loves textures, shapes, color, space, pattern...all the basic elements that make up an interior design...and the marvelous frisson that can result from their unexpected combinations. Look at the love and care with which she assembled her Hillcrest Estate above, curating a maximalist experience that is jaw-dropping.

Wearstler has designed an incredible number of hotels starting with the Avalon Beverly Hills in 1999 as well as a long list of restaurants; visit her website to see photos of these projects as there are too many to include here in this post. As she has moved from project to project, she has expanded her visual vocabulary and now includes silhouettes and colors of the Memphis/Ettore Sottsass movement (previously here) as well as the rounded sturdy organic shapes of Brutalism. Let's look at her Malibu beach house to see an example of these styles. She eschews the tired blue-and-white beach house theme for a sun-bleached approach with not a blue to be found. The simplicity of the design itself allows nature outside to be the star.

Wearstler has also designed homes for many celebrities and non-celebrities...so, because I just can't resist, I leave you with some views of a home she designed for a couple on Mercer Island In Washington. Again, on display is her commitment to natural stone, textures, unexpected colors, and materials. Just phenomenal.

Happy designing!