To anyone who has ever picked up a copy of Elle Decor or flipped the remote to Bravo, Kelly Wearstler needs no introduction. But let’s run down her resume anyway: Interior designer who popularized the Hollywod Regency craze, judge on Bravo’s “Top Design," wife of hotelier Brad Korzen and mom of two young boys. In addition to the projects she takes on through her design business, KWID, Kelly designs rugs for The Rug Company, fabrics and trim with Groundworks at Lee Jofa, bedding and table linens for Sferra and fine dinnerware for Pickard. She also concocts decorative accessories exclusively for an eponymous boutique inside Bergdorf Goodman. We hear she’ll be adding to her portfolio of products soon.

Kelly Wearstler’s new coffee table tome, Hue (Ammo) celebrates Wearstler's unabashed use of bold color, with full page photographs of her designs. The book moves through five colorways, mixing interiors, primarily from her home, Hillcrest Estate, with those from a Malibu beach house, a Bel Air residence, a Beverly Hills pied-a-terre, and two hotels, the Viceroy Hotel in Miami and The Tides Hotel in South Beach.

Each interior is vibrant and glamorous—Wearstler doesn’t do understated. Rather, her motto is "more is more.” From the objets d’art, Abstract Expressionist oil paintings, fantastical sculptures, and a bevy of intricately detailed boxes to bursts of Sputnik chandeliers, arrangements of Deco seating, oversized patterns covering walls and ceilings, and swathes of saturated color, her rooms are electric. While we can describe her style as eclectic, colorful, and bold, it’s more difficult to actually define it. With Wearstler, it’s about the emotional impression left by her arrangements in three-dimensional space. It’s best to let her tell her own story—through her rooms, her conversation with us, and her eBay picks, all below.

(Photos from Hue by Grey Crawford)

Guest Bedroom at Hillcrest Estate: Tracery Rug by Kelly Wearstler for The Rug Company, Sferra bedding, Cannon/Bullock wallcovering. Featured in the “Jonquil Citrine Dahlia” section of HUE (above, left).

Wearstler's Office at Hillcrest Estate: Desk chair upholstery fabric by Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks at Lee Jofa, cowhide rug by The Rug Company, Pedro Friedeberg gold hand chairs. Featured in the “Camellia Wisteria Vermillion” section of HUE (above, center).

Pool Terrace at Hillcrest Estate: Trousdale dinnerware by Kelly Wearstler for Pickard, napkin rings by Kelly Wearstler for Sferra. Featured in the “Carnelian Kumquat Conch” section of HUE (above, right).

A Conversation with Kelly Wearstler

The Inside Source: Is there a method to your madness? Take three colors, two patterns, five textures, stir and voila, a great room? 

Kelly Wearstler: I see a space in three dimensions from the start. I look at the history, location, and architecture, and I try to honor them, while pushing the boundaries at the same time.  My creative process is all about experimentation and approaching the task with a playful spirit. I seek out objects that move me. There is never one solution to a design question—but many different formulas. Floor plans are not the ruling force of design. In a three-dimensional space, things can change—it is an organic process, like new ingredients to a chef. I enjoy all the phases of design, from the conception to the installation phase. Each is equally gratifying.

TIS: Are there certain eras that you really like to mix together in a room? Why?

KW: It ranges from the mid-1920s, when the modern form was coming into play, to the 1980s. I am a modernist at heart, but I love the blend of classical and period antiques paired with contemporary pieces. I look at architecture for inspiration, but I always make a room my own by giving it an unconventional spin.

TIS: What did your bedroom look like when you were a little girl? And what was your parent's house like? 

KW: The house that I grew up in in South Carolina definitely had a “country cute” feel, but my room was always modern. My mother hated it, but she let me experiment. 

TIS: Did your sons have input on the decor of their room? What kind of suggestions and/or feedback did you get from them?

KW: Yes!  I let them choose the colors for their rooms—blue for Oliver and orange for Elliott. One of my proudest moments in my career was when my boys told me how much they loved their rooms.

TIS: What color combinations are you loving right now? 

KW: Ettore Sottsass is a big influence in my work. I am very much inspired by his unique color combinations—acid green and postal blue is one of my all-time favorite color combinations.

TIS: What's your latest project? Where are you finding inspiration for it?

KW: I’m currently preparing my first international Viceroy location in Anguilla. It is filled with organic elements, such as driftwood lamps, petrified-wood tables, and travertine marble floors. Those are coupled with textiles and techniques from all over the world, including hand-carved wood pieces from Asia, hammered metalwork from India, and beaded artwork from Africa. These pieces offer a striking visual contrast to the geometric lines of the architecture and grant a distinct singularity to the resort. 

TIS: Is there one particular place you'd love to re-design? Or a particular person you'd love to create a room for? 

KW: I have always wanted to re-design the White House, particularly the Oval Office. We have a very forward-thinking President, so it would be great to update the space with a more modern aesthetic!

See what Kelly found to love on eBay

Roll over items for details

Ettore Sottsass Hollywood Collection Bitossi 1991

(buy it now price, $2,200)

Alessi Ettore Sottsass Pepper Mill

(buy it now price, $99.98)

Alessi Ettore Sottsass Salt Grinder

(buy it now price, $75.98)

Wearstler has vases by artist Ettore Sottsass in pink colorways on display in her Hillcrest living room.

Sascha Brastoff Winrock Bread Plate

(buy it now price, $13.99)

Sascha Brastoff Surf Ballet Footed Bowl

(buy it now price, $30)

Sascha Brastoff Surf Ballet Pink & Gold Platter

(buy it now price, $52.50)

Seven of Eight Sascha Brastoff Surf Ballet Turquoise Coffee Cup

(starting bid, $15.95)

Set of Seven Sascha Brastoff Surf Ballet Turquoise Bread Plates

(sold for $33.50)

Wearstler uses Sascha Brastoff dinnerware  in grey and white in her Malibu beach house. The marbled effect is used throughout the home, referencing the ocean waves seen through the windows. 

** HUE cover photo by Mark Edward Harris **

Marni Elyse Katz is a Boston-based writer and editor who covers style, art and design for a variety of publications, including the Boston Globe Magazine, Boston Home and her own blog, Style Carrot.