Not that long ago, considering yourself a ‘homebody’ wasn’t something to shout out. But the design powerhouse that is Kelly Wearstler is proud to be in the staying-in club. ‘I love being at home. Our gym is here, we’re a sporty family and so we’ll have friends over. We go to bed early and get up early – we lead a super-healthy lifestyle,’ explains the 57-year-old. That’s not to say that Wearstler spends all her time holed-up in LA, though. When we speak, the mother-of-three is invigorated from a sojourn to Paris, where, along with her toddler Crosby, she took in flea markets and galleries and sat front row at the Vaquera and Dior shows (that part minus Crosby). Fashion week feeds into her funnel of creativity just as much as the former. ‘For me it’s art: the presentation, the art direction, creative direction... it’s just such an exciting time.’
Winging its way over from that trip is a floor lamp she found at a market, although not for her Beverly Hills mansion but the next iteration of her Malibu beach house. Her family’s beloved retreat for 20 years was destroyed by the wildfiresthat devastated parts of southern California in January. ‘The house held lots of memories so that was hard. But I’m an optimist. Nobody was hurt, our family is safe, our friends are safe. It’s a material thing, so I am looking at that in a positive light,’ she says. Creating and innovating is in Wearstler’s blood, after all. Her trajectory from schoolgirl honing her eye at thrift stores with her mother to interior designer and head of a global design empire is a path that has surprised the girl who grew up in South Carolina ‘without much money at all’. ‘I thought I would just do interior design and have residential projects. I never imagined I would do a hotel or design product or any of this stuff,’ she says humbly.
Hotels are arguably what put Wearstler, who launched her eponymous studio 30 years ago, on the map. After decorating his home, she was hired by her future husband, the real-estate developer Brad Korzen, to design parts of the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. In shaping what became one of the West Coast’s hippest destinations, Wearstler’s idiosyncratic influence on the sector reverberated globally. Recent additions to her portfolio include the Proper chain’s outposts in Santa Monica, Downtown LA, San Francisco and Austin, Texas.
Hospitality has struck a chord. ‘There’s nothing better than designing a hotel that so many people are going to come and experience and enjoy. My first job was working in a little diner making smoothies, so I’ve always kind of been in the service business, making people happy.’
Her inimitable style, which she describes as ‘free-spirited’, plays on scale, materiality and provenance. Unapologetically glamorous, she blends a variety of design references with assurance. And then there’s the fact that she looks the part: her uniform of oversize leather jackets and deconstructed tailoring distinguish her from her peers. There have been clothing lines, collaborations, TV appearances, awards, half a dozen books and an online MasterClass teaching interior design. Her website boasts The Gallery, an e-commerce platform showcasing pieces from emerging and established artists with prices as exclusive as the product.
Wearstler has also created homes for the super-rich (many of which have never been shared for reasons of privacy –‘it’s like baking a cake that you can’t eat!’ she laughs) and the very famous, including Gwen Stefani and Cameron Diaz. Her own home is just as remarkable as those of her A-list clients. The sprawling, neoclassical-style property looks as if it could have been wrapped in crisp, white icing and boasts a pool house so stately most Brits would confuse it for the actual house.
Its impressive lineage of Hollywood owners includes actors William Powell, Hobart Bosworth and the late James Bond film producer Albert Broccoli. ‘You can just feel the energy, it’s amazing,’ she says of the place. She and Korzen bought the property from the Broccoli family in 2005 and sensitively remodernised, while adding a studio for Wearstler.
Surprisingly for a designer so rooted in bold colour, the walls are predominantly white, though she is ruminating on an overhaul of sorts. ‘I’m still figuring it out, but I’m ready for a change.’ Is she prone to switching things up on a whim? ‘I’ll bring in new things I find, like an artwork or a room that has a different purpose, so there is some light evolving that happens, but for the most part it has stayed the same.’
Her current favourite place to hang out is the dark panelled room in the centre of the house, where she settles down to watch movies with Crosby, aged two. Also a mother to two boys in their early twenties, she has said how becoming a parent again is ‘the most beautiful part of my life’. Child-proofing, however, isn’t in her vocabulary. ‘We’re with him all the time and I did it with the [older] boys. I want them to know, “Don’t pick up this ceramic bowl and play around with it,” and so they learn to appreciate things early on. It’s worked with all of them,’ she says.
At this stage of life and with a toddler in the mix, it would be understandable if Wearstler were to gently wind things down. Instead, on top of the 5.30am daily workouts, she has added a WearstlerWorld Substack to her to-do list, where fangirls can stay abreast with what’s going on her face (Augustinus Bader) and on her feet (Louis Vuitton’s Legacy slingbacks being a most recent purchase). ‘You know I have an amazing team in my studio – we’re 65 people,’ she caveats. ‘Substack is this fun outlet to share everything that I’m learning and how I’m evolving and anything lifestyle. It’s been really fun.’
She giggles when I call her a grafter; it’s not in the American lexicon and, besides, the American way is to call things out plainly. Having a strong work ethic, just like being a homebody, isn’t something to be ashamed of. ‘I have a passion and I’m so fortunate that I found my passion and I’ve always loved working hard,’ she says. Curiosity drives her. ‘There’s always a sense of discovery and collaborative effort that I love about working with different clients. You continue to evolve and I’m always about evolving, both in my personal life and business.’
Taken from the new issue of Grazia Casa, available on newsstands from April 8.