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Home > Design and Architecture > Kelly Wearstler shares tips from her interior design MasterClass
Podcast: Design and Architecture
Episode:

Kelly Wearstler shares tips from her interior design MasterClass
Category: Arts
Duration: 00:18:29
Publish Date: 2020-04-09 02:00:00
Description:

Working at home? Is your home working for you? Kelly Wearstler might have some answers.

Kelly Wearstler has held reign in interior design since arriving in Los Angeles in the 1990s. She’s now teaching an online MasterClass. Her tips for improving one's space might be timely for people sheltering in place.

DnA talks to Wearstler about the class and her approach to design. She shares insights on how to make yourself happier through a change of paint color; why personal and spatial presentation matter; whether the bidet might make a comeback; and how to style a Zoom meeting.

“I've been on Zoom meetings where there is a dead plant in the corner,” Wearstler tells DnA. “I’ve been on another one where there's dirty dishes in the background. Presentation is everything. And your home tells the story about you.”


Vignette in the Viceroy Santa Monica, whose mix of mod colors and ornamental details is described by Wearstler as ‘Modern Colonialism.’ Image courtesy kellywearstler.com

Kelly Wearstler exploded onto the LA design scene in the late 1990s with artful interiors for the boutique hotels Avalon and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills. Then came the Viceroy brand and numerous other hotels, homes and restaurants. 

Wearstler, who has personal glamor to match her aesthetic, describes herself as a shy person. But her work is far from it. Her designs are fearless in their use of pattern, color, idiosyncratic style, and mix of historical and contemporary references.


A restaurant designed for Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan helped put Kelly Wearstler on the map. Image courtesy kellywearstler.com

The South Carolina-born designer is now working on the Proper Hospitality line of hotels. They’re located in San Francisco, Austin, Portland, and Santa Monica.  A new one is opening this fall in downtown Los Angeles.

She recently published her fifth book, “Evocative Style,” and has expanded into education with the “Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design: MasterClass.” 

Wearstler’s MasterClass is part of an online, subscription-based series where ‘masters’ in their field — such as chef Alice Waters or director Spike Lee — share tips of their trades.


Kelly Wearstler at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel. Photo by Ramona Rosales for MasterClass

Her class is aimed at anyone with an interest in interior design. The goal is to remove the mystique and help people find their personal style. 

Among tips she shares: how to make spaces feel larger, patterns feel smaller, darker spaces lighter; and how to create unity in homes with open floor plans. 

Wearstler’s class arrives as many of us are sheltering in place, and may be finding our interiors are not working for us. She talks with DnA about the class, her upcoming projects, and how to work and live more efficiently and comfortably while staying at home.  


Viviane restaurant in Beverly Hills puts mid-century vintage furnishings against a Wearstler-designed pattern that is no wallflower. Image courtesy of kellywearstler.com
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