---
title: "Kelly Wearstler, decoded: the six moves I keep seeing in her rooms"
description: "My decode of six Kelly Wearstler projects: the curves, rough materials, older pieces, scale, pairs and natural palettes that keep appearing, and how to try each at home."
image: https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hubfs/look-decoded_featured-collage.png
---

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- [DECODE](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/tag/decode)
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- [ABOUT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/about)

- [DECODE](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/tag/decode)
- [MUSINGS](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/tag/musings)
- [KNOW-HOW](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/know-how)
- [THE EDIT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/the-edit)
- [ABOUT](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/about)

# Kelly Wearstler, decoded: the six moves I keep seeing in her rooms

[Everything But](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/author/everything-but)

[IN /ɪn/ adv.](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/tag/in-ɪn-adv), [Decode](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/tag/decode)

![](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hubfs/look-decoded_featured-collage.png)

A curve against a grid. Stone beside metal. A 2019 bench in a 1930s Georgian bedroom.

Kelly Wearstler puts together things that have no obvious business being together, and makes it look inevitable. I looked across six projects to see how.

AD | This article links to an Edit with affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.

The six moves

Six moves, each with what I'd do at home. Tap one to jump to it.

![Kelly Wearstler, decoded: six illustrated cards, one for each move. A grid softened by a curve, rough stone beside a smooth slab, pieces from three eras, one oversized circle over a low bench, a pair of mismatched arches, and wood grain doing the work of pattern and colour.](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/look-decoded_summary.png?width=1200&height=1340&name=look-decoded_summary.png)

[01Straight lines need a wobble](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/kelly-wearstler-decoded#move-01) [02Rough makes polished look expensive](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/kelly-wearstler-decoded#move-02) [03Nothing belongs to one era](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/kelly-wearstler-decoded#move-03) [04One thing should be a little too big](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/kelly-wearstler-decoded#move-04) [05Pairs, sometimes twins](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/kelly-wearstler-decoded#move-05) [06The materials do the pattern and the colour](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/kelly-wearstler-decoded#move-06)

## The idea

Six projects, from a California family home to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Austin. Not the statement pieces, but the decisions underneath them. Six moves kept appearing. Some take serious money. Others take one well-chosen object.

This is my decode of her work from the outside looking in. You may well see her rooms differently.

The designer

Kelly Wearstler

Interiors, furniture and lighting, Los Angeles

[kellywearstler.com](https://www.kellywearstler.com)

[Shop my Edit, inspired by Kelly Wearstler →](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/the-kelly-wearstler-edit)

## The moves

01

### Straight lines need a wobble

Wearstler rarely lets a room get too orderly. In the New York townhouse, a key-pattern parquet floor runs under a serpentine stair. In Austin, strict shoji-style screens meet rounded chairs and lights made of quilted fibreglass. The room has structure, but never feels rigid.

At home

One globe lamp in a room of straight lines. A curved sofa against panelling, if you're feeling bold.

![Straight lines need a wobble: a strict line grid with a soft, rounded blob laid over it, showing a curve breaking up an orderly room](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/kw-move-01-grid.png?width=300&height=375&name=kw-move-01-grid.png)

02

### Rough makes polished look expensive

Fossil limestone beside aluminium. Hand-fractured glass banded in brass. Charred cypress against handmade tile. The polished stops the rough looking unfinished, and the rough stops the polished looking new.

At home

Start with a rough ceramic bowl on a smooth table. A characterful stone worktop beside lacquered cabinets is the long game.

This is one of the two moves I'd use in my own house. I like letting the materials do the talking: good natural materials, raw or exquisitely finished, bring their own drama.

![Rough makes polished look expensive: an irregular cut stone beside a smooth, flat slab, showing raw and refined surfaces side by side](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/kw-move-02-raw.png?width=300&height=375&name=kw-move-02-raw.png)

03

### Nothing belongs to one era

A room bought in one afternoon from one collection looks like a showroom. In the six projects, there is usually something older, something vintage and something by a living maker. The vintage is mostly mid-century and often Italian: seven of the twelve vintage names she credits are Italian. In Beverly Hills, a 2019 bench by Misha Kahn stands in a 1930s Georgian bedroom, quite happily. The older pieces give a room a history; the new ones stop it feeling like a museum.

At home

One older piece from an auction among the new. If it's a signed mid-century Italian one, even better.

![Nothing belongs to one era: a classical arch, a mid-century sideboard and a modern pebble form side by side](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/kw-move-03-decades.png?width=300&height=375&name=kw-move-03-decades.png)

04

### One thing should be a little too big

A giant chain sculpture in a hotel lobby. A steel figure filling a bay window. Faye Toogood's Puffball pendant over the dining table. Everything around it stays low, and that is what gives the big piece room. Without the space around it, it's just a big thing.

At home

One oversized paper pendant or floor lamp, with everything else kept low.

![One thing should be a little too big: a huge circle above a small, low bench, showing one oversized piece given space by everything around it](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/kw-move-04-scale.png?width=300&height=375&name=kw-move-04-scale.png)

05

### Pairs, sometimes twins

Pairs are everywhere: two alabaster lamps at Canela Lounge, two ceramic chairs at the door of Santa Monica Proper. Sometimes they match exactly. Often something breaks the symmetry, like two Theselius chairs in different colours. The symmetry calms the room; the odd one out stops it looking like a showroom.

At home

Two lamps of the same height in different shapes. Or a matching pair with one deliberate odd one out.

This is the other move I'd use at home. Pairing is the most natural choice in the world: two chairs, two lamps, the wally dugs on the mantelpiece.

![Pairs, sometimes twins: two tall panels of the same size, one with a dipped top and one with a round arch, showing a pair that doesn't quite match](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/kw-move-05-pairs.png?width=300&height=375&name=kw-move-05-pairs.png)

06

### The materials do the pattern and the colour

Marble veining, timber grain, tile grids and textured plaster do the work that pattern usually does. In the Kappo Kappo photographs I studied, printed fabric plays little or no part. Where pattern does appear, it tends to be geometric, and rarely more than two in a room.

The palette grows from the same surfaces: pale oak to charred cypress, travertine to veined marble, brass, alabaster, plaster and clay. Five of the six projects sit in one family of warm tones, from sand at Santa Monica Proper to near-black at Kappo Kappo. Beverly Hills is the exception: black, white and stone grey, with the warmth left to the timber and brass. Blue and green never take up more than 4% of the photographs.

At home

One real material, a stone tray or a brass lamp, with plain fabrics around it. Let it set the colour.

![The materials do the pattern and the colour: flowing wood grain lines with a plain panel set into them, showing natural grain doing the work of pattern](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/kw-move-06-material.png?width=300&height=375&name=kw-move-06-material.png)

## Where I saw them

Which moves appear in which project, and the colours of each. Every move turned up in at least four of the six projects, and two turned up in all six. No two palettes are the same.

![The six moves I saw: a grid of six Kelly Wearstler projects against the six moves. Straight lines with a wobble and rough beside polished appear in all six; mixed eras and pairs in five; one oversized piece and materials doing the pattern in four. A patterned timber floor appears in four, a named mid-century European piece in four, and no two projects share a palette.](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/look-decoded_evidence-1.png?width=1200&height=800&name=look-decoded_evidence-1.png)

![Six projects, six palettes: measured colour strips for six Kelly Wearstler projects. Five are families of warm tones, from sand at Santa Monica Proper to near-black at Kappo Kappo; Beverly Hills is black, white and grey. Blue and green take up no more than 4% of any project.](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/look-decoded_palettes-1.png?width=1200&height=800&name=look-decoded_palettes-1.png)

How I did this  I worked from the project photographs and credits on kellywearstler.com. For each project I logged the moves, the named pieces and their dates, and measured the colours in the photographs.

Why it works

Each move adds a little tension. The materials keep it calm.

Wearstler's rooms thrive on contrast, but they aren't a free-for-all. A curve interrupts a grid. Rough stone gives polished metal something to play against. An oversized piece works because everything around it knows when to step back.

You don't need the architecture or the budget. Start with one decision: a better pairing of materials, a piece from another era, or one thing a little too big. The point isn't to recreate a Kelly Wearstler room. It's to understand why it works, and use the parts that make sense in your own home.

[![My Edit, inspired by Kelly Wearstler: three of my picks](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Decode/Kelly%20W/My%20Edit%20Inspired%20by%20Kelly%20Wearstler%20Everything%20But%20the%20Kitchen%20Sink.png?width=960&height=320&name=My%20Edit%20Inspired%20by%20Kelly%20Wearstler%20Everything%20But%20the%20Kitchen%20Sink.png)](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/the-kelly-wearstler-edit)

My Edit, inspired by Kelly Wearstler

My picks for all six moves.

My own picks, inspired by her rooms. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Kelly Wearstler.

[SHOP MY EDIT →](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/the-kelly-wearstler-edit)

LIKE THIS?

Interiors, gardens, useful ideas and things I’d genuinely want at home. The Edit lands every other Thursday.

## Questions

### How do I get the Kelly Wearstler look for less?

Start small: one globe lamp in a room of straight lines, a rough ceramic bowl on a smooth table, one older piece from an auction, two lamps of the same height in different shapes. [My Edit, inspired by Kelly Wearstler](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/the-kelly-wearstler-edit), has picks at both ends of the budget.

### Will this work in a Victorian house?

Yes. Keep the architecture, the cornicing, fireplace and original floors, and bring the contrast in through furniture, lighting and materials. A curved contemporary chair against Victorian panelling does more than trying to match the period. She does the same in Beverly Hills, with a 2019 bench in a 1930s Georgian bedroom.

### What materials does Kelly Wearstler use?

Stone above all, from fossil limestone to veined marble, with timber, brass, alabaster, plaster and handmade tile. Rough and polished usually sit side by side.

### What colours does Kelly Wearstler use?

Mostly warm, natural tones that come from the materials: sand, ochre, bronze and near-black. Cool colours appear only as small accents. Don't copy her exact shades, though. Lupine's ochre glows in Californian light and sulks in a north-facing British room. Take the materials, not the paint colours.

### Do I need expensive vintage?

No. One older piece from an auction or a second-hand shop is enough.

### Isn't Kelly Wearstler a maximalist?

Her rooms are full, but edited: few objects, large ones, and pattern that comes from materials.

Spotted a move I've missed, or think I've got her wrong? Tell me on Instagram [@everythingbut.theedit](https://www.instagram.com/everythingbut.theedit/).

Project details from [kellywearstler.com](https://www.kellywearstler.com). Illustrations by Everything But.

## Keep looking

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### [![Cloud House | Everything But](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Colour%20Pop%20Cloud%20House/Colour%20Pop%20Cloud%20House%20A%20Grand%20Design%20Everything%20But%20Grid%20Edit.png?width=303&height=202&name=Colour%20Pop%20Cloud%20House%20A%20Grand%20Design%20Everything%20But%20Grid%20Edit.png) Cloud House Colour, curves and conviction. Read it →](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/grand-designs-cloud-house-a-home-with-personality)

### [![Bond, by design | Everything But](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/AIGenerated%20Image%20with%20Subtle%20Light%20Adjustment.png?width=303&height=202&name=AIGenerated%20Image%20with%20Subtle%20Light%20Adjustment.png) Bond, by design More presence, less stuff. Read it →](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/where-will-the-new-bond-live)

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## [Dimore Studio, decoded: the six details I keep seeing in its rooms](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/dimore-studio-decoded)

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[![](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/First%2c%20there%20was%20light.%20Then%20the%20lampshade%20Decode%20Everything%20But.png?width=750&name=First%2c%20there%20was%20light.%20Then%20the%20lampshade%20Decode%20Everything%20But.png)](https://www.everythingbutthekitchensink.co.uk/blog/first-there-was-light.-then-the-lampshade)

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AD | This article contains affiliate links. We may...

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