Design Inspire: The World According To Kelly Wearstler

In addition to fashion, I’m also humongously into interior design. The two go hand-in-hand so it’s worked out well. Oddly enough, the interiors obsession began as a child, got swept under the rug (mind the pun) during my teens, and now that I’m a bit, er, “older” it’s returned with a vengence!

I can thank the act of buying my first apartment (which was desperately in need of TLC) for triggering this return to design madness. Of course I set out to simply “refresh” an old bathroom. What ended up happening was a complete gutting – one small “improvement idea” naturally led onto several far bigger ones. I recollect through the demolition haze, this all unfolded at precisely the time I opened a Pinterest account. (“Mmm, hello Pinterest – fancy meeting you here…” It was a bit like THAT.) Honestly, I could not stop pinning. Schemes, dream homes, tapware, rugs, paints, door handles, you name it I pinned it!

See also… LIFESTYLE HOW-TO: STEAL RUMI NEELY’S INTERIOR STYLE

To cut a long story short, I’m on the home stretch now with the renovation and I can put off attending pin-a-holics anonymous (at least until the next obsession comes around.) An upshot of the renovation was a new-found appreciation for some amazing interior design stars, which I am going to share with you over coming weeks. These interior designers, in my mind, are beyond talented and it boggles the mind to comprehend how they even conceive their design ideas, let alone achieve them.

As an aside, it’s also interesting to see how the fashion world is impacting on 21st century interior design.Textures, fabrics, colours, details…The worlds are really over-lapping and it makes for great fun if you are a fan of both.

Anyway, I can feel a pin-attack coming on, so please read on… enjoy!

Kelly Wearstler

Kelly Wearstler – the queen of maximimalism, where too much is never enough. Known for her layering of “hues” (ie using the several shades of the same colour exclusively in a room), Kelly has developed her own style that is instantly recognisable. Kelly’s rooms are akin to theatre, a movie set if you will – glamourous, ultra-sophisticated havens of sheer luxury. Kelly is big into iterations of Art Deco, anything over-sized, and extreme. Not for the faint-hearted, and also not for the poor, sadly. Kelly certainly does have her detractors who find the interior designer’s work garish and un-liveable, and a little bit too ’80’s. (You can decide for yourself!)

In addition to working around the idea of “hue” Kelly has also mastered the ability to combine otherwise clashing colours together to great effect. Irritatingly for the novice, her combinations of say blue and green, or pink and yellow, just always seem to work perfectly.

I particularly love her incredible way with colours, her heavy use of amazing natural stone, her apparent lack of design-fear, and the high drama in each and every one of her rooms. Kelly has really pushed the boundaries of home interior design, and it makes sense that she is now pioneering cutting-edge hotel and commercial interiors projects all over the United States and the Caribbean.

Kelly has also published several best-selling books, has her own fashion and jewellery line, retail stores, wallpaper collection, collaborates with the Rug Company, and only drinks juice (no solid food.) Hey, I didn’t say she wasn’t a little wacky.. Here are a few of my favourite Kelly Wearstler looks (from my Pinterest boards, of course.)

ABOVE: A New York apartment… An eye-watering amount of natural material, tone, and shape.

 

ABOVE: A Bell-Air pool house. That is the house that adjoins the POOL (OMG)

 

A Bellagio residence… Yikes. I’m less of a fan of this, but it’s a great example of use of wall treatment and colour.

 

ABOVE: I’d sleep here. An artistic expression of black, white and gold.

 

Kelly’s Malibu “Beach House”. So many colours, so much amazingness.

 

Hue – Blue on Blue on Blue. Plus, Art Deco, 80’s, natural stone, sculpture, cubism, and pretty much everything else.

 

Malachite-toned hotel lobby with lots of stone and shapes, and contrast.

 

An unlikely lobby for a Caribbean resort… Typical Kelly I guess!

 

One of Kelly’s mood trays, sublime…

 

So, that’s the maestro Kelly Wearstler! Love it? Hate it? Tell us what you think in the comments below, (and earn BWA Dollars for your comment!)

Be sure to read… TOP FIVE AUSTRALIAN INTERIORS BLOGS TO FOLLOW

 

17 Comments

  • Fashionista8P
    Reply Fashionista8P Tuesday 19th May, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    I cant practically see someone living in a place like this

  • Reply jessicawheelock Sunday 10th August, 2014 at 10:32 am

    These look incredible – but a bit too much for everyday living

  • Reply kt Saturday 19th July, 2014 at 9:25 pm

    Beautiful! Love how everything’s so diverse yet fits together perfectly!

  • Reply Sparkles17 Monday 14th July, 2014 at 2:30 pm

    Love the eye catching floorings!

  • Reply Whatthe Sunday 13th July, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    I want a breakfast bar!

  • Reply stels Sunday 13th July, 2014 at 5:59 am

    wow!

  • Reply daysofourlives123 Friday 11th July, 2014 at 7:08 pm

    Amazing!

  • Reply amanda6393 Friday 11th July, 2014 at 8:48 am

    Love that New York apartment!!!

  • Reply lovelyloves Friday 11th July, 2014 at 8:30 am

    Sounds great! Thank you Vanessa. Perhaps I will keep a blog or diary and take photos whilst I’m going through this process.

  • Reply Whatthe Thursday 10th July, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    I love the touches of gold everywhere!

  • Reply lovelyloves Thursday 10th July, 2014 at 8:16 am

    Thanks Vanessa! That’s really encouraging!! And I hadn’t realise EBay have these things either! How can you tell they are genuine though?

    • Vanessa Roberts - Editor
      Reply Vanessa Roberts Thursday 10th July, 2014 at 9:19 am

      Hi Lovelyloves, Well it’s always a bit of a gamble really!! But no, I scrutinised the photos, and tended to buy from larger ebay sellers who were just offloading excess stock. It really worked out well. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, you just need to buy the right designs – just like fashion.

  • Reply Whatthe Wednesday 9th July, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    Opulence!

  • Vanessa Roberts - Editor
    Reply Vanessa Roberts Wednesday 9th July, 2014 at 3:48 pm

    Hi lovelyloves, to be honest I don’t know how much I have spent on the renovation. I don’t WANT to know!!! I saved thousands however buy scouring eBay for wholesale pricing on a lot of otherwise expensive fixtures and fittings. I did a huge amount of research and shopped around. I would definitely recommend renovating it is so satisfying and even though I never thought it was for me, I absolutely LOVED it! (ps power tools are fun too!)

  • Reply BellaB Wednesday 9th July, 2014 at 2:30 pm

    I love the idea of caring about interior decoration, but my kids defeat me after five minutes.

  • Reply TashWilliams Wednesday 9th July, 2014 at 10:09 am

    Bedroom = Perfection!

  • Reply lovelyloves Wednesday 9th July, 2014 at 8:19 am

    How much has it cost so far for the renovation?? I’m thinking of doing it too and would love some tips!!

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