Playgirl

Hello my fancy friends! Thanks for tuning in today. One of the best ways to stay inspired when it comes to the look and feel of our homes is to have a knowledge bank of prolific professional interior designers - both current and historical. We’ve covered a few of these in recent episodes like Ray of Light for The Eames and Keys Under Palm Trees for Dorothy Draper, but today we are looking at our first modern, current, active designer; who is quite possibly the most popular and successful interior designer of our time. And if you’re deep in obsession with the world of interiors, this name is probably very familiar, but many of us don’t know the names of actual designers or companies because we’re so focused on “styles” rather than creators. But knowing the names of the humans behind your favorite looks, gives you a back stage pass to even more work in that vein by looking at their websites, social media, and printed works.

Today, I’m talking about THE Kelly Wearstler, owner of Kelly Wearstler Interior Design.  Kelly’s design work has been making a unique statement since 1995, and today, we are going to look at her background, design style, what propelled her into the spotlight, and how you can incorporate her eclectic look into your home.

But first, let’s talk about the color of the week. There’s nothing like a slightly ridiculous news story to bring  everyone together in distraction, and last week we got to watch a surveillance balloon from our friends in the East fly high over Montana, and in the dramatic conclusion we all wanted, was shot down after being tracked for two days. This ballon has been described to be large enough for the Statue of Liberty to use it as a giant beach ball, but of course I can’t stop looking at the iconic images from the ground - gazing up at what looks like the moon. The material is reportedly a super thin plastic that provides a decent amount of reflection from the sun, making the vessel almost blindly white to look at in images. That’s why this week’s color is Sherwin Williams SW 7757 High Reflective White. This powerhouse color is a fan favorite for ceilings and dark spaces, providing a maximum bounce back of both sun and electric light; enlarging the perceived height of almost any room. This color is a bold choice and really helps a “light and airy” aesthetic meet its goals, while taking the actual attention off the ceiling and putting it on the room maker credenza you thrifted. Behold the power of color, even in the blazing absence of it.

Kelly Wearstler, Interior Design extraordinaire, hails from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While she has made her career and much of her brand aesthetic associated with Southern California, a mild twang of southern charm is still detectable in her speech even today. Her father worked in antiques and her mother was an avid thrifter, coloring much of Kelly’s view on the world of design. She was formally educated in Boston and its reported that she worked at some of the cities staple architecture firms like C7 and Milton Glaser.  But she had her sights set on the golden simmer of the West coast, and ventured out to try her hand at set and prop styling in the beautiful city of Los Angeles. 

There, she worked part time as a hostess in the restaurant world. Now, one thing that is notable about Kelly is that she has many physical features that align with the traditional modeling industry standards of beauty. Meaning, she’s a knock-out, a ten, she’s got pretty privilege. Even her client Gwen Stefani commented on how striking she was in person. So, while working in the food service industry she was scouted to model for none other than Playboy Magazine. She took the job, and was featured in the September 1994 issue. But Kelly’s true passion was still calling her. She took the paycheck from Mr. Hefner and opened her very own design business. We love it.

One of the clients she worked with in her first year was a hotel and real estate tycoon named Brad Korzen. They worked closely together. So closely that they soon began dating, which eventually lead to marriage and two kids. But in the meantime, Kelly was the go-to for not just Brad’s home, which  was her original project, but Brad’s real estate projects, including the Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills, which featured bright aqua upholstery and terrazzo flooring to match, gold accents, and swirling wallpaper that evokes the look of an agate slice.

Kelly was able to make a real name for herself through these projects, and went on to design many a celebrity home, be featured as a guest judge on the Bravo show Top Design, collaborate with major retailers to create jewelry and furniture lines, had her own interior design course featured on the learning app Masterclass, publish a total of five books to date, and won countless design awards. She also has a vibrant and active social media presence that often features her in oversized couture outfits playfully interacting with rooms she’s designed. Her marketing and PR teams are clearly working overtime.

Now, I’m always curious about what makes our design icons rise to fame, because you know, I’m too cynical to believe in the meritocracy. In many cases it’s all about who you know.  In the episode “Keys Under Palm Trees,” we looked at design legend and Nepo Baby Dorothy Draper, who was born into a world that was her oyster. In the episode “Ray of Light” we noted how Charles Eames was both charismatic and handsome enough to smooth talk his walk into any project. Kelly Wearstler has a few of advantages going for her. She wasn’t born into a wealthy network of clients, but she did marry into one, and as noted, her presence has been described as magnetic. She’s clearly easy enough on the eyes to pose for major magazines, her love of avant-garde designer fashion helps establish her as a creative tastemaker the second she walks in a room, and her demeanor is incredibly poised and confident. And yes, she’s an incredible designer, but there are many incredible designers that haven’t seen the level of success that KW has achieved. There’s always that secret sauce in mix, and for Kelly it’s her look, high level of charisma, and close connection to a network of clients.

All that being said, Kelly has made a major contribution to the world of interiors by being her unique self. Her style is a vibrant mix of Hollywood Regency, Art Deco, the Memphis Design Collective, and Modernism. In a world that tends to default to taupes and beiges, Kelly has pushed magenta and aqua, bold patterns,  and statement-making textures in every project that comes her way. 

So how do you bring Kelly’s design direction into your home?  The first thing you’ll have to do is gather up every last ounce of chutzpah you have and be unapologetic about mixing big, bold patterns. It’s important to remember that Kelly set out to be a set designer, and film sets always include over exaggerated features in order to pop on camera. Kelly’s work takes the approach of no surface left behind.  Everything has either a gigantic pattern, a fascinating “touch-me” texture, or a color that if personified, would be an extrovert. But, never all three at once on the same piece. What Kelly’s spaces always manage to do is provide a sense of balance and relief. 

Start by picking a focal point element in your space, whether it’s a wall, the floor, the sofa, it really could be any single element, and let the dial on that item be turned up to 11.  This element should either have a giant but neutral colored pattern, a delicious texture, or a poppy color. If you go with a pattern, you can use this benchmark- it’s considered a large pattern if a single element in it is larger than your hand. So with Kelly, we’ll often see the Dorothy Draper style enormous black and white checkerboard, or a tone-on-tone starburst wood parquet. If you go to texture, consider highly polished chrome; rich, luscious velvet; swirly, high contrast marble, the rough natural feel of live edge wood or grasscloth wallpaper, or sleek rows of channel tufting. For color, Kelly often mixes jewel and earth tones, but has historically stayed away from pastels and neons. We often see poppy blues like cobalt and cerulean with a mix of dusty lime green or gingery orange. 

After you identify the one element in the room that is the eyecatcher, everything else from there should be at least two steps down in volume. Significantly smaller patterns, more subtle textures, more neutral colors. It’s good to have layers of each element, so keep turning down the volume a knotch or two as you go to keep the focus on your big focal point, but make sure to alternate between color, texture, and pattern in every space. And please, play as you go, you can think of this as a loose recipe that’s adjustable based on your needs, and the more fun you have making it your own, the better.

One last element that is critical to Kelly’s look is bringing in vintage pieces. Her company has a warehouse full of collector items that Kelly has acquired from all over the world and she holds on to them until their perfect project comes along. Mixing decades, styles, and time periods is an important part of Kelly’s unique look, so while she is certainly well versed and referencing many different designers, she’s creating something new and transformative because she isn’t afraid to play a little mad scientist.

Now I have heard some people give the criticism that Kelly’s work is cheesy, corny, too much, or overwhelming. But I have to say, in a world of take-yourself-too-seriously-taupe, Kelly brings a much needed sense of whimsy. She reminds us that interior spaces are supposed to be fun, even celebratory- can you imagine the audacity?

I do question if her work is getting more beige throughout the years though. When you compare her early projects like the Avalon and her original office, which was featured in a 2009 copy of the New Yorker showing a symphony of magenta, red, orange, yellow, mauve, and chrome; to her more recent projects for the Proper chain of hotels, with locations in Los Angeles and Austin; which focus primarily on high contrast neutrals and lots of fun textures and patterns, but not much color in sight. Is Kelly‘s taste just deviating as her career continues down its natural path? Or have clients requested neutral after neutral to the point where she’s just not fighting it anymore? We could all use a little Wearstler vibrancy in our lives, so, if you haven’t check out her Instagram or her website and let her larger than life aesthetic, feed your spirit. I will talk to you in the next episode.