Kelly Wearstler

Kelly Wearstler
Name	Kelly Wearstler
Birth date	1967
Birth place	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Occupation	Interior designer, author, entrepreneur
Years active	1990s–present
Notable works	Viceroy Hotels design, residential projects, product collections

Kelly Wearstler is an American interior designer, author, and entrepreneur known for high-profile hospitality, residential, and product design. She rose to prominence through transformative projects in Los Angeles, expanding influence across New York City, Miami, Las Vegas, and international markets including London, Paris, and Tokyo. Wearstler's career intersects with hospitality groups, fashion houses, galleries, and media outlets, establishing her as a prominent figure in contemporary design and lifestyle culture.

Early life and education

Born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Wearstler moved during childhood to Atlanta and later to Aspen, Colorado. She studied at the University of Colorado Boulder before transferring to and graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where she trained in interior and furniture design. Her early influences included exposure to regional architecture such as Modernism in California and historic preservation projects in Boston, alongside mentorships and internships with practitioners from Los Angeles and New York City design circles.

Career

Wearstler established a design studio in Los Angeles and gained early recognition through boutique residential commissions and collaborations with hospitality executives from the Viceroy Hotel Group and the Morgan Group. Her redesign of the Viceroy Santa Monica and subsequent properties led to broader engagements with brands including W Hotels, Starwood Hotels, and private developers in Las Vegas such as projects associated with Caesars Palace and the Hard Rock Hotel. Wearstler expanded into editorial work with features in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Vogue, and collaborations with media outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She authored monographs and lifestyle books published by imprints and distributors in New York City and exhibited work in galleries including venues in Los Angeles and London. Her studio has worked with architects and firms such as Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Julian Schnabel, Zaha Hadid's studio contemporaries and cross-disciplinary teams from Harvard Graduate School of Design networks.

Design style and influence

Wearstler's aesthetic synthesizes references from Art Deco, Mid-century modern, Hollywood Regency, Postmodernism, and contemporary Minimalism into layered interiors. Critics and commentators from The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Wallpaper* have compared her approach to historical figures like Frank Lloyd Wright, Ettore Sottsass, and Le Corbusier while situating her within the lineage of designers such as Dorothy Draper, Billy Baldwin, and Charlotte Perriand. Her palette and material choices often reference artisanship linked to workshops in Italy, France, Portugal, and Japan, and her surface treatments draw connections to works in the collections of museums like the Museum of Modern Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Major projects and collaborations

Wearstler's notable commissions include major hospitality projects for brands and properties such as the Viceroy Santa Monica, the Viceroy Palm Springs, and contributions to hospitality groups like Emaar Properties and investors from Dubai and Doha. She has completed residential projects for clients with connections to Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and international art patrons in Hong Kong and Beijing. Collaborative product and capsule collections have been developed with manufacturers and retailers including Boca do Lobo, Waterworks, Rhythm and Hues Studios collaborators, Moooi, Gubi, and luxury fashion houses intersecting with studios in Milan for Salone del Mobile presentations. Wearstler has partnered with gallery curators and artists such as Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Anish Kapoor, and Cindy Sherman for installations and limited editions.

Businesses and product lines

She founded an eponymous design firm and later expanded into licensed product collections spanning furniture, textiles, lighting, hardware, rugs, and tabletop with partners including Gracious Home, Anthropologie, Boca do Lobo, Visual Comfort, Walker Zanger, and The Rug Company. Wearstler launched a lifestyle boutique and online storefront linking to retail partners in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. Her authored books and coffee-table monographs were released through publishers and distributors located in New York City and marketed via outlets such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores connected to cultural institutions like the Getty Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Awards and recognition

Wearstler has received industry accolades and has been profiled in annual lists from outlets like Architectural Digest's AD100, Elle Decor A-List, and nominations from organizations such as the American Society of Interior Designers and the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI). Her work has been exhibited and cited by institutions including the Cooper Hewitt, and she has been a speaker at design festivals such as Design Miami/ and panels at TEDx and university forums at Columbia University and Princeton University. Media recognition has come from features and awards presented by Condé Nast, Hearst Corporation, and industry trade shows in Milan and Las Vegas.

Personal life and philanthropy

Wearstler's personal life has intersected with cultural and philanthropic networks in Los Angeles and New York City. She has supported nonprofit organizations and causes associated with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, the Broad Foundation, and arts education programs tied to institutions like RISD and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her philanthropic involvement includes fundraising events and collaborations with curators and benefactors from museums and universities such as UCLA, USC, and Yale University.

Category:American interior designers Category:People from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina