Sunday, April 21, 2013

Discover A Designer



 Kelly Wearstler

I immediately knew the Designer I wanted to write about.  I’m so drawn to Kelly’s eccentric design style because she is fearless with her designs.  Her philosophy is
“Take Risks” and she does.
 I went through some of my magazines and noticed I have several pages of Kelly Wearstler designs or advertisements that are folded (which means I loved something about it that was worthy of revisiting).  Kelly Wearstler in one word would be ENERGY! 
Who is Kelly Wearstler? She is a wife and mother of two,  currently designs her own Jewelry line, fashion lines both couture and ready to wear that you can find in boutiques, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus stores.  She designs her own wall coverings and textiles working with Lee Jofa and The Rug Company.  She’s designed dinnerware, accessories and most importantly, in my opinion, she does custom home furnishings.   She is the founder of the Kelly Wearstler Interior Design (KWID) firm in Los Angeles and all around Design Extraordinaire.  
 Kelly is author of “Rhapsody”, “Modern Glamour: The Art of Unexpected Style”, “Domicilium Decoratus”, and “Hue”.  In the words of the Police, “Every little thing she does is magic”! These books are must haves for up and coming interior design students.
Kelly’s style of design said to be old Hollywood, modern baroque, neoclassical but she calls herself a modernist.  Whatever you call her design, she is definitely a trend setter.
Kelly has been on the design scene for some time now.  She did the redesign for the Avalon Hotel in California.  This success led to several more hotel, contract and residential work that has established her career today.   Her icons were Dorothy Draper and William Haines.
When asked in an interview with Elle Décor, “What is the essential element of any room?” Her answer is, “It’s not a thing but a spirit: The essence of a room is the emotion it conjures”.  Wow, what an answer! 
 
She is a master at layering colors!  Love the glazed moiré wall covering, the artwork and the iconic hand chairs.  Is that hide on the ceiling and rug?
The back wall is very 3-D, and I love her bold color choices. 
She mixes crazy (that means awesome) mixes of patterns and graphics along with the color scheme yet there is symmetry and balance
Some of Kelly’s staple pieces I see in a lot of her designs are:
Picture courtesy of:http://thewanderingwonderer.com

“Saints hands”
Picture courtesy of: http://smittenincle.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html
Picture courtesy: https://www.onekingslane.com
These are the Porter Chairs that I see a lot in her designs typically in vibrant colors.
Another staple is her own Elliott Chair.  Also noteworthy is the geometric tiled marble floors btw…amazing.
Do you see a pattern here?
Design inspiration can be found anywhere, you just have to look.
Happy Day!





Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Top 5 Blogs

Hey all, here a my top 5 favorite blog sites:


What I loved about this blog is the seasoned elegance the author Katie Denham has in the design industry.  She has immersed herself in design of all aspects like interiors, clothing, trending styles and patterns, and the people to watch for or the people we should know about as interior designers.
You can find color inspiration anywhere
Check out that sweet little mongolian lamb stool with everything else being larger in scale
Rug...that's hide!
The editor Cassandra Lavalle is a trendy designer that gives very practical examples of how to enhance your space with pieces you may already have, just throw a trendy paint color on it and voila!  Her philosophy is “design is in the details”  so what I’ve learned from this blog is to pay attention to even the smallest of details in design, even if it’s just a tablescape.

cozbi jean for coco+kelley west elm_2
Fun tablescape idea with a little succulence
cozbi jean for coco+kelley west elm_3

Bird Nest Ring


I feel overwhelmed after viewing this young lady’s blog.  Wow, her blog is intense with fashion but the designs behind the runways or that are the runways make me want to get out more and take more pictures to document these amazing images that are out there…that some incredibly artistic individual saw in their mind and brought it to life.


Fireplace, YES! also noteworthy is the ceiling pendants
Love the wall covering
AMAZING!

Erin is the editor of house of turquoise and she is obsessed with all things turquoise.  Turquoise is very fun to say!  It is also very fun to see in an interior because it really pops in any setting.  So what Erin has done in her blog is find beautiful pictures on the internet and off to the right is where she specifies a particular item, say a lamp or bedding and then she lets us know exactly where we can get it for ourselves or our clients.  I love this site because it’s a bit more down to earth and practical.
Hey camera hog (sorry, I couldn't resist)

Westside Tile and Stone has an amazing website for all things tile and stone.  On the blog it gives you incredibly beautiful and trendy design concepts with what you can do with tile and mosaics.  This site will be my go to when I need fresh ideas on backsplash and fireplace surrounds.
So not only are the tiles beautiful on the fireplace, look around at the room... I love how the seating flows into the dining space.