MarilynKelvin: Designer Review: Multi-Talented Designer Kelly Wearstler

When it comes to multi-talented designers, West coast designer Kelly Wearstler takes the cake. She started as an interior designer in the 1990s. Since her beginnings, she has spread into designing her own fashion line, home product line, jewelry, authoring 4 design books, opening her flagship store in 2011, serving as a judge on Bravo’s show Top Design, and was a guest editor for In Style Magazine.

Wearstler’s style can best be described as luxury mixed with romance and a modern touch. Architectural Digest described her style as “Hollywood Regency.” She’s known to mix lacquer, chrome, brass, bold prints and patterns, rich colors and textures, and multiple furniture styles, including her own.

If you’re looking to bring this kind of glamour and luxury into your own home, here are some tips based on Wearstler’s design style.

Choose Bold Flooring

One thing you’ll notice about Wearstler is her love of bold and graphic flooring – anything from checkerboard pattern to a kaleidoscope marble. Her flooring choices make a bold statement up front and set the tone for the grandness in the rest of her design.

If you want to make a bold flooring statement in your own home, an affordable option would be exotic laminate flooring. Or, if you’re wanting a less permanent option, a large area rug in a bold print or funky pattern can make the statement you’re looking for.

Entryway Designed by Kelly Wearstler on Elle Decor

Chrome, Brass, and Mirrors, Oh My!

Wearstler is known for her use of chrome, brass, and mirrors, among other metals. It’s one of the key elements she uses in her designs that achieve that level of Hollywood glamour and sophistication.

If you’re not able to bring these metals to life in big scale, then you can bring these elements to life in furniture, funky wall mirrors, and light fixtures. You could choose a mirror or brass covered buffet for the dining room, chrome light fixtures for the bathroom, or create a mirror wall out of a collection of interesting mirrors.

Kitchen Designed by Kelly Wearstler on Elle Decor

Pops Of Color

You’ll see in some of Wearstler’s designs that she doesn’t use a smattering of colors. She tends to create a space in bold rich darker colors and then if she want to introduce a pop of vibrant color she’ll choose a carefully selected piece of vibrantly colored furniture (and then she might pair it with a coordinating, but more subdued, rug or art piece).

Create interest in your own rooms by choosing a piece of furniture that is bold in color and stands out. For example, choose funky turquoise side tables or a magenta chair to add the pop of color to your living room.