RHAPSODY: A DESIGNER’S DREAM
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: Â George Whylie Videographer: Maxine Nolan
Kelly Wearstler is one name that brings with it talent in varying degrees. Â This very imaginative artist is not only an interior designer but also launched her own fashion line in 2011. Â Both accomplishments have earned her acclaim by fashion and design critics alike.
Wearstler’s clothing collections have given off a unique appeal with chic and sophistication in every piece and talked about way after the collection hits the stores.
Kelly has channeled her interior design abilities into opening her own successful design firm. Â She has attracted many high-profile customers including the Viceroy Hotels & Resorts giving her creations the description of “retro-theatrical”.
Wearstler has taken on some large projects such as the restaurant and lounge, BG, at the Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman store.  The inspiration behind much of her work is the influence of Modernism and old Hollywood glamour as created by Dorothy Draper and Willam Haines as well as the work of architect Aldo Rossi. Many have credited Kelly with bringing “the florid and the decorative back to interior design”.  It is not uncommon to see a shag rug or a Rococo mirror in her final work.  A room is immediately brightened with the tantalizing touches that Kelly puts on them.
It may seem like nothing can top these achievements but Kelly Wearstler seems to always exceed expectations. Â Bravo appointed her judge for the reality show ‘Top Design’ during the 2008 season.
It has all been captured on the pages of not just one book but now four books. Â The first book was published in 2006 and was full of photographs featuring Kelly’s Beverly Hills mansion and fashions of Kelly in evening gowns. Â Next came Modern Glamour and Hue.
Last week, on October 23,2012, the fourth book in the series was spectacularly revealed and it is called, ‘Kelly Wearstler: Rhapsody’.
This latest publication visits Wearstler’s glamorous world with profiles of her latest residential and hotel designs and chronicles her creative planning process along the way. Â It brings to us different periods, scales and textures and how they mesh to create the perfect space. Â Let your thoughts go and don’t be afraid to decorate your rooms as a means of your self-expression and originality pouring forth.
In an interview with the LA Times, Kelly described her passion. Â She discovered that Memphis pieces are really quite attractive in their own special way and portray a sense of structure and personality. Â Stone and minerals fascinate her, patterns in onyx are dramatic. Â Different types of fabrics are so workable and it seems as if fashion design goes hand in hand with interior design. Â Materials can be said to make the room.
There are colorful and visionary pages and pages that take you into such a gifted designer’s world.  The book is now available at Rizzoli.com for $55.oo.  You may find some ideas that you have been searching for in order to make your home that much more inviting.
PHOTO CREDITS: Â Grey Crawford and Annie Schlechter of Rizzoli
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