Inspiration

Get to know interior design icon Kelly Wearstler

Article by Homes to Love

Kelly Wearstler’s distinctive style has captivated the interior design scene. We take a closer look at why everything she touches looks so good…

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Image via kellywearstler.com

Get to know interior design icon Kelly Wearstler

American interior designer Kelly Wearstler is the poster girl for sophisticated style that pushes boundaries. At the top of her game she has morphed from someone who fits out homes to becoming the focus of an incredibly successful lifestyle brand.

Wearstler encapsulates cool, so much so that you can choose everything from her ranges of wallpaper and furniture to upmarket homeware (think gem- encrusted bottle openers) and lighting to signature jewellery pieces and bedding on her website. Her Hollywood store has become a must-go-to destination. It seems people can’t get enough of Kelly’s trademark mix of luxe and casual, sophisticated and “raw”, vintage and modern that has made her the A-list name to get “the look” for iconic home decor.

Her popularity has been fed by her blog and constant presence on Instagram posting inspiration from sources as random as art gallery exhibitions to flowering primroses and tree branches in any one given day.

Wearstler’s brand is also helped by the fact that her personal style encapsulates the elegant sophistication of her interior design. Followers also want to know how achieve her seamless blend of vintage and new clothing, high end mixed with high street that gives her outfits such an edgy look.

Although Wearstler has designed many luxurious hotels, restaurants, homes and commercial interiors in the past few years, her focus on all she does is still very personal and she names her clients as her most important muse.

Wearstler-inspired design tips for distinctive interior style

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Image via kellywearstler.com

1 Mix it up

Blending old and new, high-end pieces with fun finds, combining pieces from different styles and eras, building textures and being bold with touches of colour are her cornerstones for creating an inviting room. She also loves subtle interest from combining the refined with the raw: lux textures near a rough wooden table, sleek furniture finishes with stone or metallic-finish lighting and ornaments.

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Image via kellywearstler.com

2 Don’t follow fads

Wearstler has always been insistent that she’s not a believer in following design fashion and that she’s more likely to get her design inspiration from a museum or art gallery or some street graffiti than from what’s happening in homes stores and the latest restaurant fit-outs. She is adamant good design has longevity. And above all she cautions to never buy a roomful of furniture from one source to achieve a “look” – the result will always be bland.

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Image via kellywearstler.com

3 Include you

Make sure your home reflects your interests and design aesthetics. Wearstler stresses the importance of always including pieces that have personal significance, whether it is a chair you’ve inherited or pieces of artwork you have collected on your travels. It is important to create an interior that has layers of significance to create a true sense of “home”. She advises clients to invest in pieces that mean something to them and says strong personal style doesn’t date.

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Image via kellywearstler.com

4 Be adventurous

Wearstler is a great advocate of being bold and taking risks to achieve that wow factor. “Take risks. Taking risks and experimenting is the only way to grow,” she told Miami Design District recently. “Seek out new inspiration, educate your eye and stay curious. Love colour – living without colour is like living without love.”

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Image via kellywearstler.com

5 Mix masculine and feminine

Part of her eclectic style is based on combining “harder” and “softer” looks to give a truly three-dimensional feel to a room. For instance rosey pink accents will ping without overwhelming if teamed with harsher gunmetal shades; match distinctive, large pieces of furniture with soft textiles; bold over-sized light fixtures are given perspective with a refined sculpture or delicate, twiggy floral displays.

As she says on her site kellywearstler.com: “I experience my interiors as a sculpture. I play with texture, scale and dimension to create a sense of drama. I want to tell a story.”

See more of Kelly’s amazing interiors on Instagram.

Words by: Sarah Beresford. Images via: kellywearstler.com.

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