Ever since launching her eponymous Los Angeles-based firm in 1995, Kelly Wearstler has gained acclaim for her distinctly designed spaces and products, which combine texture, color, shape, and size for unforgettable environments. Born in Myrtle Beach, California, Wearstler’s mother, an antique dealer, had a significant impact on the visionary’s creative endeavors. She enrolled in the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston to hone her skills in interior and graphic design.
Wearstler’s world of design is an intuitive fusion of contrasts. She has revealed the power of combining the bold and the refined, the historic and the contemporary. After taking the pulse of a site’s cultural and architectural history, she works with opposites to make it shine. The result has been a collection of award-winning spaces—from homes and hotels to restaurants and retail spaces. Beginning with the Avalon Beverly Hills residences, which were revitalized in 1999 with the designer’s lively exploration of mid-century modernism, Wearstler went on to design the Maison 140 hotel in Beverly Hills, as well as the Viceroy Hotels and Resorts. In addition, Wearstler has launched collections of home products across categories, while also maintaining partnerships and collaborations with Dior, Maison Margiela, MatchesFashion, Net-a-Porter, Louis Vuitton, and more.
Homeowners from New York to California, and hospitality clients from the Caribbean to Texas, have gone to the interior designer and her multidisciplinary studio for the same thing: her signature touch. Adventurous and refreshing, these atmospheres feel distinct and familiar, invigorating and functional. It’s Wearstler’s intention to design a space that evokes emotion, hinging on both form and function, to nurture meaningful experiences. She also ensures that the local community is reflected in each project by enlisting local designers, engineers, artisans, and artists to create thoughtful site-specific work.
Recently, Wearstler’s magic unfolded in her sixth book, Synchronicity. The Rizzoli-published title looks at three of Wearstler’s Proper Hotels interiors, as well as four residential spaces, to illustrate her collaborative and imaginative work in the field. One notable project highlighted in its pages is the Downtown L.A. Proper—a refined luxury hotel created within a former YWCA building, which Wearstler worked to both preserve and reimagine. Instead of filling an indoor pool on the fourth floor, she designed a private suite around it, centered by an artwork. She commissioned the local artist, Ben Medansky, to create a piece above the pool, and decorated the rest of the space with a mix of vintage and bespoke furnishings.
Another of Wearstler’s latest projects was creating a tabletop collection with the Belgian homeware company Serax. Divided into two lines, “Zuma” and “Dune,” it includes glassware and flatware in various colors and materials, including wood, ceramic, marble, and metal.
