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{joomplu:1421}Kelly Wearstler Creates a Lifestyle

Kelly Wearstler cannot simply be called a designer. Words like “tastemaker” and “brand” are regularly assigned to the stunning and chic international personality – with “best dressed” recognitions from Vogue, highly sought “living with style” advice, a spot on the Bravo show Top Design and several books and product lines to her credit.

When it comes to interiors, Wearstler provides “lifestyle and design experiences” for exclusive resorts and hotels like the Tides in Miami, Viceroy destinations in Santa Monica, Palm Springs and the Caribbean, and other high profile clients – always making a major splash and setting the tone for where style is headed.

The designer said she never saw it all coming; she just focused on what she loved and things kept moving forward and building. “My career has really been a natural progression,” she said. “I just started doing interiors and it grew from there. At first I was really into shopping for vintage clothing – I have been collecting all kinds of fashion for 20 years now – jewelry, bags, clothing. Just being around all that - fashion and furniture and lifestyle stuff – it fueled a natural evolution for me. It was all so inspirational – the color, texture and details.”  

Wearstler studied art and design at Massachusetts College of Art but even before that, she knew her calling. “In high school and middle school I just loved art class. I remember those classes would go by really fast while all the others would drag,” she laughed. “I took every class they offered related to art. I knew early on that I wanted to do something in that vein.”

Having committed herself to moving ahead with her true passion, Wearstler said much came down to putting in the hours. But a lot of it is really a fun kind of work that keeps her growing and enjoying new successes. If the choice is a day off or a day at work – either is good for Wearstler. “I work and worked very hard to get to where I am now,” she said. “I am still always thinking about design – my head is always in it ... I am always aware of my surroundings and constantly being inspired. My clients inspire me, going to an auction, visiting a museum with my kids ... inspiration is everywhere.”

{joomplu:1437}The passion and inspiration driving Wearstler has led to major work in the hotel world and a select portfolio of acclaimed residential and commercial projects for the right celebrities and high-profile clients.

The designer finds all the spaces she designs to be unique. “The hotels I do, for instance, are inspired by their location and architecture,” she said. “All of the design is very site-specific and it feels different from one to the next. I want people to feel emotion when they walk through one of my spaces. I always strive for my interiors to have soul.”

One thing connecting the projects she works on – hotels, residential interiors, or her books and accessories – is a real fresh sense of what’s cool, what’s striking, what’s lush … and sexy. 

In her role as tastemaker, Wearstler embodies a lifestyle of hipness, glamour, luxury and fun, with a definite feel behind all of her work. To go through one of her books, or walk through one of her hotels, is to be on the inside of something special, living the good life.

When pushed to say what might click with so many people, what makes them connect to her work, she said it really does come down to the lifestyle element. “I think just having things around you that are of nice quality and feel like they’ve been collected with a purpose. Not just the furniture, but everything. I just finished designing for the Viceroy Anguilla, for example, and when I was picking everything, from the bikes that are on the property to the boogie boards and towels and picnic baskets – just everything – it turned into a lot of lifestyle items that work with the interiors and the things going on in the spa and the other spaces there to give you a certain feeling.” 

{joomplu:1428}When Wearstler designs an interior, or even picks out her own clothes, there is always an inspiration or a feel that speaks to her – and the key is being open to new things. “What speaks to me visually is always changing,” she said. “I am always seeing new things and being inspired by them – falling in love with something new.”

Wearstler has several books out; the latest is called Hue and celebrates the power of color. She believes that color play is a major part of the best design. Regarding what it means to her and how people should feel about it in their own homes, she said, “Color is everything. Color can be loud or quiet. Color is white and black and color is yellow and pink. Color is personal.”

Wearstler has published several titles prior to Hue, and books are only one of her projects beyond interior design. She opened the Kelly Wearstler Boutique at Bergdorf Goodman, with exclusively designed home accessories and furniture. She also has a collection of handmade carpets with The Rug Company, a line of fabrics and trims at Lee Jofa, soft home goods with Sferra and dinnerware with Pickard China.

She doesn’t have a favorite project but loves the chance each affords her to focus her plentiful energy and inspiration in a new direction. Each project satisfies a different artistic desire. “It’s so nice throughout the day to have a two-hour meeting on a product I’m designing [and] getting really detailed on one element, then switching to an interior design, and then moving on to designing fabrics for a wall covering and on and on …” she said. “It’s fun to be able to have that creative change in different formats.”

Taking so much enjoyment from design and fashion, Wearstler has good advice for people who would also like to live with style. “Have fun and take risks,” she said. “If you do not go outside your comfort zone, you cannot experiment. Experimentation is growth. Mix it up. Shop in new and different places. Mix new and old.”

And for those younger designers, the same goes: “Follow your heart and take risks, as that is how one finds one’s own voice.”

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