1. Kelly Wearstler founded her own design firm Kelly Wearstler Interior Design in the mid-1990s, serving mainly the hotel industry, and now designs across high-end residential, commercial, retail and hospitality spaces.
39 Facts About Kelly Wearstler
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Kelly Wearstler has designed properties for clients such as Gwen Stefani, Cameron Diaz and Stacey Snider, and served as a judge on all episodes of Bravo's Top Design reality contest in 2007 and 2008.
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Kelly Wearstler has won numerous awards including AD 100 Hall of Fame, Time Magazine the Design 100, Elle Decor A-List Designers and Vogue Best Dressed.
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Kelly Wearstler was born in 1967 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and raised in Myrtle Beach.
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Kelly Wearstler's father was an engineer and her mother an antique dealer.
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Kelly Wearstler would come home from school to find rooms often painted new colors.
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Kelly Wearstler started collecting vintage clothing at age 15 and later attended the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, where she took architecture classes, and obtained her bachelor's degree in interior and graphic design.
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Kelly Wearstler moved to Los Angeles in her mid-twenties, hoping to work in the film industry as a set decorator.
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Kelly Wearstler used the money from the photoshoot to pay off student loans and help start her interior design business.
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In 2006 Kelly Wearstler designed the restaurant and lounge, BG Restaurant, at the Bergdorf Goodman Building in Manhattan.
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Kelly Wearstler published her first book of design in March 2004.
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Kelly Wearstler appeared in all twenty episodes before the show's end in 2008, and attracted a fair degree of attention in the press with the outfits she wore while judging.
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In July 2007 Kelly Wearstler opened her first brick and mortar retail space in the form of a boutique in Bergdorf Goodman's home-furnishings department, and the following year her office was based in West Hollywood on La Cienega Boulevard.
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Kelly Wearstler released her book Hue in early 2010, which features photography in chapters organized by color.
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Kelly Wearstler explained that the book is about combining varied textures, scales, and time periods, opining that mixing "antiques, vintage and contemporary design pieces and art" leads to a more "soulful" interior.
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In 2014, Kelly Wearstler collaborated with Los Angeles-based confectioner Compartes on a line of chocolates.
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Kelly Wearstler was commissioned to design the $800 million renovation for Westfield Century City, a shopping center in Los Angeles.
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Kelly Wearstler's clothing is no longer sold at Bergdorf Goodman or related retailers, as Wearstler no longer has a fashion collection, instead focusing on furniture, lighting, textiles and accessories sold at her flagship store and website.
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In 2016, Kelly Wearstler was the interior designer in charge of remodeling the restaurant Viviane, located in the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills.
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In September 2017, Kelly Wearstler completed the interior design of the first Proper hotel in San Francisco.
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In 2018, Kelly Wearstler debuted her first retail project design, a chocolate shop in Los Angeles called Compartes Chocolatier, created in partnership with Jonathan Graham.
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In June 2019, Kelly Wearstler launched a new line of wallpaper designs.
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The Santa Monica Proper Hotel with an interior designed by Kelly Wearstler opened in July 2019.
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In December 2019, Kelly Wearstler debuted her new furniture collection for 2020.
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The Austin Proper Hotel designed by Kelly Wearstler opened in February 2020.
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Proper hotel designed by Kelly Wearstler is slated to open in June 2021.
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In March 2020, Kelly Wearstler became the first instructor to teach the interior design course on the MasterClass platform.
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In March 2021, Kelly Wearstler designed a virtual garage to commemorate the launch of GMC's Hummer EV, which she said was imagined for LeBron James.
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In 2021, Kelly Wearstler invested in the company Block Renovation, which provides a technology based platform that helps homeowners and contractors to digitize and simplify the home renovation process.
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In June 2022, Kelly Wearstler became an angel investor in the startup Vergo, a Fintech company that caters to the architecture, design and building industry.
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In 2022, Kelly Wearstler took over Wallpaper magazine as a guest editor for their October 2022 issue.
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Kelly Wearstler has described her own design work, particularly her interior design for hotels, as "romantic" in style.
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Kelly Wearstler uses intense colors, David Hicks-like graphic patterning, and contrasting textures.
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Kelly Wearstler's genius is her ability to mix elements from all different eras, styles and periods.
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In 2022, Wearstler partnered with UT School of Architecture's Interior Design program, to establish the Kelly Wearstler Endowed Fund for Design Students to provide undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships to design students who require financial aid.
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Kelly Wearstler has furthermore cited the work of architect Aldo Rossi as an influence, as well as artists Victor Vasarely, Sheila Hicks and Yaacov Agam.
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Kelly Wearstler has collaborated with several emerging designers to bring more eclecticism to her projects.
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In 2021, Kelly Wearstler launched The Gallery, a curated eCommerce page on her website that promotes the products from emerging and established artists that she admires.
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Kelly Wearstler is active on social media, and in early 2014, Architectural Digest included her on a list of 15 Must-Follow Designers and Architects on Instagram.