Book review: Rhapsody by Kelly Wearstler

Design trend setter Kelly Wearstler shares her inspirations, inviting readers into the creation of her opulent interiors. Celebrated for luxurious interiors that capture the swankiness of old-world Hollywood with a modern pop sensibility, Wearstler is known for her decadent designs of residences and boutique hotels, such as the line of Viceroys and the tastemakers Maison 140 and Avalon. Her ornate interiors are distinctive for layers of bold textures, patterns, and rich colors juxtaposed with lustrous surfaces, adding up to a whimsical and elegant look that has been called “mod baroque.”

This volume offers a look into Wearstler’s glamorous world, profiling in detail her latest residential designs (previously unpublished) and her sumptuous new hotels, as well as her creative process. The book also follows the designer—known for her striking personal style—behind the scenes to watch her at work, creating sculpture at her metal foundry or shopping at auction houses, to reveal the myriad inspirations that fuel Wearstler’s imagination and her dazzling design work.

With beautiful images of many never-before-photographed interiors, Kelly Wearstler: Chromatic Rhapsody is an inspirational look at one of the most irreverent and fascinating designers working today, celebrating the breadth of her creations.

Kelly Wearstler was born in 1967 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Her father was an engineer, and her mother was a closet interior designer and antique dealer.

She graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art, obtaining her bachelors in interior and graphic design. Her mother’s career in design had a major influence on Wearstler at a young age; she would come home from school to often find rooms painted new colors. In 1994 she moved to Los Angeles, hoping to work in the movie industry. Wearstler briefly worked a low-level job in the art department for the film So I Married an Axe Murderer and decided not to pursue a career in the film industry. She met Brad Korzen in 1996, and they married in 2002.

The couple have two sons, Oliver and Elliot. Wearstler lives and works in Los Angeles. She credits Peggy Guggenheim and Doris Duke as being her style icons.

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