Designer Kelly Wearstler has teamed up with Swedish retailer H&M Home on a line of lighting, accessories and modular furniture that will be unveiled with a Milan design week installation in a palazzo.

The collection will comprise 29 pieces in total, with 13 key designs set to be shown in Milan's Palazzo Acerbi, a 17th-century baroque palace in the centre of the Italian city.

It marks the first time that Wearstler has shown in Milan, as well as H&M Home's debut at the design week.

The collection, which features designs made from materials including textiles, wood, metal, ceramics and marble, will be sold in 40 countries from September and see Wearstler's work reach a larger audience than usual.

"I love that I can reach that higher collectible audience, but also now having this partnership with H&M and doing something that's super accessible, I love that dichotomy," the designer told Dezeen.

Wearstler also redesigned the interior of Palazzo Acerbi for the installation, which was produced by Studio Boum, to reflect the collection's focus on "daily rituals and modular synergy", H&M Home said.

The installation will contrast the palazzo's ornate frescoes and historic collonaded architecture with Wearstler's H&M Home designs, which have a more geometric, contemporary aesthetic.

Among the designs on show will be a modular chair that can turn into a sofa, as well as lamps with a "caged" design and a trompe l'oeil vase.

The Wearstler collaboration marks the first time that H&M Home has created larger furniture pieces together with a designer.

"This collection represents many firsts for us," H&M Home head of design and creative Evelina Kravaev-Söderberg said.

"Having a presence at Milan Design Week has long been a dream, and with Kelly, we knew the moment was right," she continued.

"H&M Home has a global presence, but with this milestone, we want to make an impact on customers and the design industry alike in a new way. When we discovered the venue – the Palazzo Acerbi – everything fell into place."

Wearstler, who is best known as an interior designer, has previously created product designs and furniture, including a piano with "sensual curves" and sculptural marble seating.

Also in Milan this year, architect Lina Ghotmeh will unveil a pink labyrinth.

The photography is courtesy of H&M Home.

Kelly Wearstler's H&M Home collection can be seen at Palazzo Acerbi, Corso di Porta Romana 3, between 9am and 6pm from 21 to 26 April. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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American interior designer Kelly Wearstler has made her first foray into musical instruments with Timbra, a rimless piano informed by the fluidity of sand dunes.

Los Angeles-based Wearstler designed the sculptural instrument for British bespoke piano brand and longterm collaborator Edelweiss. It is her interpretation of a traditional grand piano.

The interior designer told Dezeen that the focus for her first piano was "learning to design with the instrument rather than around it".

"The piano has its own logic, its own non-negotiables," she said. "The sound has to be protected."

Wearstler chose wood, which is typically used to construct pianos thanks to its acoustic qualities, for Timbra. She selected birch, a material often found in the multi-layered residential and hospitality projects that have put her on the map.

The piano's exterior is characterised by undulating edges, including its strikingly curvaceous lid formed from a slab of birchwood veneer that was CNC-milled to precision.

The instrument's CNC-milled birchwood veneer body and legs are equally rounded and rimless, as is its accompanying curved timber piano stool.

"Natural forms were always the starting point," explained the designer, who layered the wood to create an instrument designed to echo wild landscapes.

"Water, sand dunes, the way things move organically," she added. "I was thinking a lot about fluidity, and how sound itself moves through space."

"Curves do something very specific to a design," continued Wearstler. "They're sensual, they're unexpected, and they force you to think completely differently about grain, about light, about how someone moves around an object."

The designer said that she was drawn to the way birch responds to carving, and how "the grain reveals itself in the most unexpected and beautiful ways".

Timbra is available in six translucent finishes called verdigris, fawn, syrah, dune, ink and ash. Sitka spruce was selected for the soundboard, while inside, the piano is supported by a patented welded steel frame.

While this is Wearstler's first musical instrument, she said the idea was informed by her previous collaborations with Edelweiss, as she has placed the brand's pianos in many of her interior spaces.

"Every single time, I found myself wanting to push further, not just placing a piano in a space but really questioning what it could be," reflected Wearstler.

"A piano isn't just an instrument, it's a presence in a room," she added. "It changes everything around it."

Wearstler recently applied her love of wood to Kappo, a charred-cypress-clad French and Japanese restaurant at the Austin Proper Hotel in Texas.

The photography is by Giulio Ghirardi.

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"Intimacy was non-negotiable" for Kelly Wearstler when interior designing Kappo Kappo, a charred-wood-clad French and Japanese restaurant at the Austin Proper Hotel in Texas.

Kappo Kappo is a single-room, 25-cover restaurant at the Austin Proper Hotel, which features interiors by Los Angeles-based Wearstler throughout.

The French-Japanese fusion restaurant is centred around "kappo" dining, the Japanese term for "to cut and cook", where each course is prepared in front of the diner and served directly to them by the chef.

"Understanding kappo dining – really understanding it – was essential before I touched a single material decision," Wearstler told Dezeen.

"It's about the relationship between chef and guest, so we designed around that," she added, nodding to the central, 15-cover chef's counter that anchors the space. "That intimacy was non-negotiable."

Wearstler clad the small eatery in floor-to-ceiling slats of charred cypress, blackened using the traditional Japanese timber preservation technique known as shou sugi ban.

Produced locally in Austin, the cypress was stained in a deep green hue to imbue it with an "unexpected twist".

"It has this subtle warmth, this organic quality that reflects the sensibility of Japanese design without being literal about it," explained Wearstler.

The designer crafted gridded millwork screens for the space. Illuminated with a warm glow, they store and conceal the restaurant's glassware and handmade ceramic plates.

The screens are a playful take on shoji screens, traditional Japanese room dividers made from translucent sheets on a lattice frame.

Kappo Kappo's standalone dining tables were designed bespoke for the project using leathered stone, while the chairs were made from ebonised, sandblasted pine.

"We wanted to showcase the natural beauty of stone and balance all the wood," said Wearstler. "The chairs also have this raw, tactile quality that feels right in the space."

One of the walls was decorated with a trio of oversized, quilted fibreglass sconce lights by Korean artist Minjae Kim.

"The lights are these abstract forms that flirt between organic and geometric," considered Wearstler. "Kim understands how to make something feel both considered and alive."

While most of the furniture was custom-made for the restaurant, Wearstler incorporated a handful of vintage pieces – a practice she applies to every project, which has earned the designer her reputation for creating distinctly eclectic interiors.

Among the curated accents is a sculptural ceramic lamp from the 1970s and a painting by American artist Ever Baldwin displayed in a hand-carved, charred-wood frame.

"Those vintage touches add depth, history, personality," said Wearstler. "They make the space feel layered and collected, not just designed."

Considering how she wants diners to experience Kappo Kappo, Wearstler hoped that they "feel completely present" in the space.

"The open kitchen and the counter seating dissolve any barrier between the chefs and the guests," she added. "You're part of the experience, not just observing it."

Kappo Kappo was founded by twin chefs Gohei Kishi and Haru Kishi, who were born in Paris to Japanese parents.

The photography is by Giulio Girardi.

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American interior designer Kelly Wearstler has unveiled Side Hustle, an exhibition platform showcasing work from a broad range of artists and designers.

Side Hustle will bring together work across various disciplines, from sculpture and jewellery to film and automotive design, in a regular exhibition format.

Its inaugural show, Again, Differently, will take over the pool house of Wearstler's Beverly Hills home from 16 October.

Each exhibition will be presented both in the form of a curated physical show and online.

According to Wearstler, Side Hustle was founded to champion the many artists and designers she has collaborated with over the years to bring her recognisable interior designs to life.

"My studio practice has long integrated work from across such a wide range of creative disciplines," said Wearstler.

"It is this exploration that led to the birth of Side Hustle – a space for ideas to unfold beyond the logic of client or commission, working to present works that contribute to the ongoing evolution of design as a cultural practice."

The Again, Differently exhibition will feature 10 artists and designers from across the USA, South America, the UK and Europe, working with diverse materials including lacey garments and architectural remnants.

Among the participants are artist Sonia Gomes, installation designer Joana Schneider, sculptor Leonor Antunes and artist Dozie Kanu.

Throughout her 30-year career, Wearstler has been responsible for myriad eclectic interior designs. She is known for her designs for the American hospitality group Proper Hotels, including the Austin Proper Hotel and Residences.

Recently, she turned her hand to a luxury animal hospital in Ontario, Canada.

The photography is by Paige Campbell unless stated otherwise.

Project credits:

Curator: Kelly Wearstler
Participating artists and designers: Leonor Antunes, Kenny Beats, Sonia Gomes, Madeline Hollander, Karl Holmqvist, Dozie Kanu, Sam Klemick, Nynke Koster, Mariko Makino and Joana Schneider

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A muted pink hydrotherapy room and swathes of stone and terrazzo feature in Ontario's King Animal Hospital, a veterinary clinic created by Kelly Wearstler to mirror her approach to interior designing for humans.

Located just outside of Toronto, the 60,000-square-foot King Animal Hospital marks the first healthcare project by Los Angeles-based designer Wearstler, known for her eclectic layering of opulent materials.

The four-storey facility was created to make its furry patients feel at home, providing services for small animals and horses ranging from critical care to dermatology and neurological assessments.

"Animals respond to their environments just as we do, which is why when designing for them, I approach the process with the same intention as creating spaces for people," Wearstler told Dezeen.

Visitors enter a reception area anchored by a curved stone desk with burnished brass accents. Custom terrazzo extends from the flooring halfway up the walls, illustrated with a hand-painted mural of delicately line-drawn cats, dogs and horses.

"Muted tones establish an immediate sense of calm and welcome," said Wearstler. "It's that first impression that sets the tone for everything."

Central to the hospital is a pale pink hydrotherapy room clad in gleaming D-tiles, which sit pleasingly alongside a geometric turquoise swimming pool.

Architectural pilasters and rounded corners feature throughout the durable space, creating an environment that is comfortable but easy to clean. Bespoke gold-hued sconces add a luxurious touch to the room.

"The tiles combine clinical functionality with visual interest, creating a space that feels dynamic rather than purely utilitarian," explained the interior designer.

Inlaid stone, warm timber and ceramic were layered throughout the hospital, chosen to put both animals and their owners at ease. Various touches nod to the building's purpose, including a custom relief by artist Emma Tate of two horses with their necks intertwined.

Examination rooms were fitted with custom chunky benches by Montana designer Kelsie Rudolph while an eight-metre table, hand-carved by New Jersey artist Casey MacCafferty, was placed in the dining area.

Both creatives produce recognisably Wearstler-style furniture, characterised by amorphous shapes and textures.

Elsewhere, locker rooms were finished with blocks of chocolate-hued terrazzo. Wearstler dressed the waiting areas and meeting rooms with plump low-slung seating and an abundance of wood to reinforce a sense of calm.

"Clinical requirements pushed me to see interior design with a completely new perspective," Wearstler said, considering her first healthcare project.

"The challenge was creating interiors that serve a diverse range of patients, from small animals to horses, with each requiring different scales and specialised care areas."

"Every material needed to perform on multiple levels and be durable enough for medical use yet rich with texture and warmth," she added. "I loved exploring the tension where advanced technology meets residential comfort."

With treatments ranging from underwater treadmills to laser therapy, King Animal Hospital was founded by animal lovers Rob Scheinberg and Danielle Eden-Scheinberg and opened last year.

"They wanted to completely reimagine animal healthcare," reflected Wearstler. "To break away from sterile, clinical environments and create something that felt warm and inviting."

"The concept became about blending opposites – advanced medical care with residential comfort to create a place that feels less institutional and more like an extension of home."

Wearstler is one of contemporary interior design's most recognisable names.

Her portfolio includes a West Hollywood clothing store featuring indoor trees and a hotel in Downtown Los Angeles clad with 136 unique types of tile.

The photography is by Nick Hudson.

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Kelly Wearstler is often hailed as contemporary interior design's most recognisable name. In this interview, she tells Dezeen about crafting her textured and eclectic style.

American interior designer Wearstler has been dressing rooms since her mid-twenties, rising to become one of the discipline's most significant names.

"I'm obsessed with nuance," she told Dezeen. "I view design as boundless and undefined, but if I had to choose a single word to describe my approach it would be 'mixology'."

High-end interior design has been dominated by minimalism and sleekness in recent years, but Wearstler's projects are known for their eclectic grandeur.

Her studio is responsible for the interiors at a slew of luxury hotels, including four locations across North America for the Proper Hotel Group.

For example, she created an Austin branch with a sculptural oak staircase that doubles as a ziggurat of plinths for individual ceramic pots. Meanwhile, The Downtown LA Proper features 136 unique types of vintage or custom-made tile.

"Luxury is more of a feeling than a specific quality"

"To me, luxury is more of a feeling than a specific, tangible quality," Wearstler said. "It's all about texture and sensation, but also storytelling and considered curation."

"The most luxurious spaces bring together unique objects that each have their own history, essence and character, and encourage an elegant conversation between them," she added.

"A technique I always like to use when pursuing a sense of luxury is mixing vintage and antique items with more contemporary pieces. The history and character that come with vintage furniture help to create a 'luxurious' experience."

This approach is also reflected in Wearstler's residential and retail projects, which she tends to fill with unlikely combinations of pieces – a habit she traces back to visiting antique shows and auctions with her mother, who was an antique dealer, as a young girl.

Among these projects is the designer's own 1950s beachfront cottage in Malibu, California, furnished with objects chosen to be "hand-crafted, rustic and raw".

Wearstler also replaced the home's existing shag carpet with seagrass as a nod to the surrounding coastal setting.

"My design philosophy is rooted in a firm commitment to juxtaposition and contrast, whether this be in relation to textures and colourways, materials or even eras in time," said Wearstler.

"For me, contrast is what brings a sense of soul to a space. It creates interest, lets the space take on a life of its own and imbues it with a feeling of genuine authenticity."

"AI has exponentially enriched our creative process"

Wearstler says her design philosophy was partly shaped by working in the film industry early on in her career.

Before forming her eponymous studio in California in 1995, she worked in various roles including set decoration and art direction – an experience she claims shaped her appreciation of the "emotion and atmosphere" of a space.

"My time working as a set designer definitely impacted my approach to interior design," Wearstler told Dezeen.

"Working on film sets taught me the importance of dramatic intent, and that's remained a key element of my work throughout my career."

Despite her penchant for vintage pieces, Wearstler stressed the importance of rising to contemporary challenges – not least artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on design.

Wearstler's studio has been using generative AI – which she calls an "ally" – since 2021, citing image-generating platforms including DALL-E and Midjourney as tools to generate ideas.

The same year, the designer created a virtual garage, playfully imagined as a home for basketball player LeBron James's electric Hummer, decked out with renderings of Wearstler-designed furniture including the studio's Echo bench and Monolith side table.

"Many people see the introduction of AI as a challenge, but I think of it as one of the greatest tools for growth," said Wearstler. "AI has exponentially enriched our creative process."

"As designers, it's our responsibility to push the boundaries of our craft and to create spaces that elegantly and artistically reflect the world around us," she added. "AI is a vital tool in allowing us to do this in new and extraordinary ways."

Wearstler has published six books and with 2.2 million Instagram followers, she is often considered interior design's most recognisable name.

"I think my work stands out because I follow my gut," she reflected. "Whether I'm designing a hotel, a private residence or a product, I give its emotional and physical attributes equal consideration."

"Most importantly, I strive to bring my clients and customers joy through my designs. I'm not sure if that's what makes me the 'most recognisable name', but if you design with the person who will be living in a space, or with a light fixture or chair, in mind, your work will resonate."

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American interior designer Kelly Wearstler has paired a towering tree with speckled wood panelling and vintage furniture by Carlo Scarpa at the Ulla Johnson flagship store in West Hollywood.

Wearstler created the light-filled, two-storey shop as the flagship Los Angeles location for Johnson's eponymous clothing brand.

The duo worked together to envisage the sandy-hued interiors, which Wearstler described as "something that really speaks to LA".

"A priority for me and Ulla was to ensure that the showroom encapsulated the quintessence of the West Coast, firmly grounded in both the surrounding environment and local community," the designer told Dezeen.

Visitors enter the store via a "secret" patio garden lined with desert trees and shrubs rather than on Beverly Boulevard, where the original entrance was.

"This Californian idea of merging indoor and outdoor is evident from the moment you approach the store," said Wearstler, who explained that her designs tend to nod to the "natural world".

Inside, three interconnected, open-plan spaces on the ground floor were dressed with textured interiors that mirror Johnson's similarly rich collections, which hang from delicate clothing rails throughout the store.

Standalone jewellery display cases by Canadian artist Jeff Martin feature in the cavernous accessories space. Clad with peeling ribbons of grooved, caramel-coloured tiles, the cases echo floor-to-ceiling speckled burl wood panels.

The other living room-style area was designed as a sunroom with a pair of boxy 1970s Cornaro armchairs by modernist Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, as well as parquet flooring with Rosa Corallo stone inlay.

"Vintage pieces are infused into all of my projects and I enjoy experimenting with the dialogues created by placing these alongside contemporary commissions," explained Wearstler.

The largest of the three spaces, the mezzanine is illuminated by skylights and houses a double-height Brachychiton – a tree that also features in the designer's own Malibu home.

A chunky timber staircase leads to the upper level, where another lounge was finished in burnt orange and cream-coloured accents including a lumpy marbelised resin coffee table by LA-based designer Ross Hansen.

"We collaborated with a variety of local artisans to imbue the spirit of southern California into every facet of the project," said Wearstler.

Ribbed plaster walls and textured flooring line a fitting room close by, which was created to evoke a residential feeling, according to the designer.

"We wanted people to feel at home in the store so we prioritised warm and inviting elements," she said.

Another striking display cabinet made from "wavy" plywood, which was CNC-machined, evokes "a touch of 1970s California nostalgia".

The Ulla Johnson store is also used as a community space, which hosts rotating art installations, talks with guest speakers and other events.

Wearstler recently designed an eclectic cocktail bar at the Downtown LA Proper hotel, which she previously created the wider interiors for. Her portfolio also features a 1950s beachfront cottage renovation in Malibu.

The photography is by Adrian Gaut. 

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In this week's comments update, readers are discussing a large concrete home in California designed as a "modern ruin", with architecture by Masastudio and interiors by Kelly Wearstler.

The home, which is laid out like a "village" of open and enclosed spaces, was designed for clients who are avid art collectors and have a deep appreciation for contemporary architecture and design.

However, some commenters felt the project was overly extravagant and lacking design direction.

"Lacking any personality"

"With that amount of money, this is really the best you could come up with?" asked Jacopo.

JZ concurred calling the project "excessively expensive".

AlfredHitchcock thought it was "far too tasteful and lacking any personality" and compared it to "an exercise in thoughtless spending and overindulgence".

Commenter Saddened also wasn't a fan of the extravagant scale of the project, describing it as a "template for bad American taste, amplified by an endless budget".

But Ulisses Papa came to the project's defence, commenting that "seldom have I seen a more resourceful, beautiful and serene project being more criticised as in these comments."

Expensive or resourceful? Join the discussion ›

"Perfect location for this dynamic structure" 

Readers were divided about the news that Danish architecture practice 3XN has been selected to create a stepped retail building along Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Design Junkie thought it was a "really cool shape" and Ken Steffes suggested that it was the "perfect location for this dynamic structure".

However, commenter Zee was unfazed by the waterfront structure, exclaiming "just a few curved walls, meh!"

Meanwhile, Peter McK was frustrated about the site decisions. "Once again demolishing a perfectly fit building to create iconography" they lamented.

What's your opinion? Join the discussion ›

"A piece of Las Vegas in downtown Singapore"

Also receiving mixed reviews in the comments section this week was architecture studio WOHA's "garden hotel" in Singapore with planted pool terraces cut into the building's rectangular form.

Ati-st praised the studio's work writing "these guys are experts in using plants as architectonic elements."

Other commenters were similarly impressed. Chip Lynch felt that "it certainly would be nice to overlook the open green spaces from your room in a city setting like this".

However, AlfredHitchcock was struggling to make up their mind. "A piece of Las Vegas in downtown Singapore," they said. "In some ways, it's really quite wonderful, but in other ways it's so indulgent."

"It's certainly more Caesars Palace than Raffles – designed to cater to the flamboyant rather than the sophisticated," they added.

What are your thoughts on the garden hotel? Join the discussion ›

Comments update

Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page and subscribe to our weekly Debate newsletter, where we feature the best reader comments from stories in the last seven days. 

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This sprawling white concrete house in California is laid out like a "village" of open and enclosed spaces, with architecture by Masastudio and interiors by Kelly Wearstler.

The home was designed for clients who are avid art collectors, and have a deep appreciation for contemporary architecture and design.

Having amassed a large plot of land through the purchase of several small parcels, the family with grown children wanted to create a permanent home with plenty of space for entertaining.

They gathered a team comprising architecture firm Masastudio, interior designer Kelly Wearstler and landscape architect Andrea Cochran to bring their vision for a "modern ruin" to life.

"I've always been influenced by Louis Kahn's work and the idea of looking more towards ancient architecture and ruins," Masastudio cofounder Marwan Al Sayed told Dezeen.

"In some of our initial meetings, the clients often referred to the feeling you get when you're inside Greek architecture," he continued. "There's a timelessness and solemnity to it. But at the same time, they're both very interested in art and collecting art. So they're very open, and have a modern sensibility."

In the main house, spaces pinwheel around a central atrium, where a glass-wrapped oval courtyard known as the Oculus features an ancient olive tree.

Shaped to be reminiscent of works by Romanian artist Constantin Brâncuși, the courtyard's curved perimeter creates circulation around it, as well as a gallery area for displaying artwork — chosen with the help of an art advisor.

"Looking across through the glass Oculus to the other side, we created more depth by allowing views of really beautiful pieces of art beyond," said Wearstler.

"We made sure that there was a bench or a moment where somebody could just sit and appreciate them, or take a call."

The four primary public spaces branch off this piazza-like space in cardinal directions, and are open to both the central courtyard and the gardens to create a continuous open-air flow through the building.

"They're all connected visually," said Al Sayed. "It's almost like a street, and then the buildings are like a village."

"The sense of exploration and discovery is amazing," added Wearstler, who described the atmosphere inside the home as "soulful modern".

In the corners between these areas, concrete volumes enclose rooms like a library, kitchen, his and hers studies, and extra bedrooms.

The largest of the open spaces is the salon, which leads out to a hardscaped terrace that steps down to the soft landscaping where an old elm tree grows.

The salon offers multiple soft seating options for large gatherings, all upholstered in muted, earthy tones that allow a brightly coloured George Condo painting to stand out.

"We were really working with the color story of the artworks and with the openings to the exterior, so it was all in synchronicity," said Wearstler.

On the opposite side of the oculus is a breakfast room, while the perpendicular axis directs from the home's entryway to the dining room – where a shallow pool forms a platform for a sculpture.

In each of these spaces, the ceiling curves gently upwards towards the exterior, and continues to lift passed the operable glass partitions to culminate as a thin overhang that offers shade.

"The whole roof from all four of those pinwheeling spaces billows down slightly, so it's almost like the underside of a manta ray," Al Sayed said. "It's such an open-air house, because all the doors are so beautifully pocketed inside the walls. So you have really monumental-scale openings."

Two sculptural staircases with solid wooden bannisters lead up to different sections of the upper floor.

One runs in a straight flight and provides access to the primary suite, which includes a cosy, neutral-toned sitting area with wood panelling.

The primary bathroom has walls, floor and a central bathtub made entirely of the same dramatically veined marble.

The end wall is perforated to bring in light, and a small gold-leaf artwork on the wall provides the only colour against the black and white stone.

"The client wanted a bathtub that feels perfect," said Wearstler. "So we had the stone tub made as a full-scale model, so he could actually sit in it and make sure that the proportions and all the detailing were great for his body."

The second, winding staircase connects to guest bedrooms upstairs and a basement, while a fitness suite is located at ground level beyond a breezeway.

Also part of the project, a pool house was constructed close to the main building, on a platform elevated five feet (1.5 metres) above the lawn.

"It's raised up almost like a Greek temple," said Al Sayed, who described how the adjacent basalt swimming pool is also designed to reflect the elm tree in the garden.

Inside the glass and concrete pool house volume is a conversation pit, a large dining table and its own kitchen, so it can operate self-sufficiently if needed.

Above the seating area is a circular skylight within a concave indent in the black plaster ceiling, which "disappears into the sky" at night.

At the back, a sunken bedroom suite faces onto a concrete courtyard with a single tree, hidden from the rest of the property for extra privacy.

Throughout the project, the board-formed concrete is meticulously detailed, which Al Sayed credits to the skill of local contractors Valle Reinis Builders.

The outdoor space acts like a sculpture garden, with large works by artists including Beverly Pepper dotted through the landscape.

These artworks are carefully framed by views from the house, creating a synergy between architecture, interiors and landscape.

Al Sayed and partner Mies Anderson founded Masastudio in 1997 in Arizona, before relocating to Los Angeles. The studio is perhaps best known for designing the ultra-luxury Amangiri resort in the Utah desert.

LA-based Wearstler is one of the world's most famous interior designers and counts several locations for the Proper hotels group in Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles, Austin and San Francisco among her portfolio.

The photography is by The Ingalls.

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Interior designer Kelly Wearstler paired clay plaster walls with Moroccan cement tiles at this eclectic cocktail bar in the Downtown LA Proper hotel.

Named after Mexico's national flower, the Dahlia bar features a blushing interior that was designed to echo the rest of the hotel – also created by Wearstler.

The designer looked to the same Spanish, Mexican and Moroccan influences that define the wider Downtown LA Proper, such as terracotta Roman clay plaster walls and ceilings when conceptualising the bar.

"The warm, earthy tones of the lounge are in concert with the larger hotel while striking their own note entirely," said Wearstler.

"Dahlia feels like it has been there for ages," added the designer, who has been named as a judge for the inaugural Dezeen Awards China.

Visitors enter the bar through yellow-tinged stained glass doors that were custom-made for the venue by Los Angeles' historic Judson Studios, which claims to be the oldest family-run stained glass company in America.

Seating was created from a mix of built-in reddish banquettes and low-slung curved armchairs that hug circular timber tables, while a geometric chandelier draped in light-filtering silk was suspended overhead.

In one corner, an embossed and low-slung black cabinet supports two squat table lamps that look like oversized green olives.

Wearstler adorned the clay plaster walls with a mishmash of vintage and contemporary textural artwork, which was finished in ceramic and sand. Various local artists were included in the mix.

Defined by "saturated hues and dramatic lighting," the cocktail lounge also features a bar clad with lilac-hued Moroccan cement tiles and woven crimson rugs.

"This is the kind of space where you can entirely lose track of time," said the designer.

Known for her distinctively eclectic style, Wearstler has created interiors for various other destinations that are part of the Proper Hotel Group. The designer scoured vintage shops to source the furniture that decorates the living room-style lobby of a Santa Monica branch while an Austin location features a sculptural oak staircase that doubles as a plinth for Wearstler's own glazed earthenware pots and vases.

The photography is by The Ingalls.

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American designer Kelly Wearstler, X+Living founder Li Xiang, UNStudio's Garett Hwang, designer Carole Baijings and Bentley Motors' Kim Airey have been announced as Dezeen Awards China 2023 judges.

Submit your entry to Dezeen Awards China 2023, in partnership with Bentley Motors, before midnight Beijing time on 24 August to avoid late entry fees.

Dezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards, celebrating the best architecture, interiors and design in China.

Read on for more about the industry professionals who will be judging the entries this year.

Wearstler is the founder and principal of design studio Kelly Wearstler. She will be judging the interiors categories this year.

Notable projects include Santa Monica Proper Hotel, Austin Proper Hotel, San Francisco Proper Hotel, BG Restaurant at Bergdorf Goodman, the Viceroy Hotels and Residences, Westfield Century City and custom residences for high-profile private clients.

Wearstler's accolades include Elle Décor's A-List, Architectural Digest's AD100, AD France AD100, AD Spain Top International Designer, Wallpaper Magazine Top 20 Designers, Time Magazine The Design 100.

Hong Kong-based architect Hwang will judge the architecture categories for this year's Dezeen Awards China.

As a director and a key leader of UNStudio Asia, Hwang has worked on many key projects in Asia, such as Raffles City Hangzhou and the Lyric Theatre Complex in Hong Kong.

She often focuses on the integration and smart application of computation to benefit the design, quality, and control of complex building systems, looking at ways to re-interpret spatial relationships and create hybrid programmatic interfaces that benefit the user experience.

Baijings is the founder of Amsterdam-based design studio Carole Baijings Studio. She will be judging the design entries for this year's programme.

Baijings describes her design philosophy as an "atelier-way-of-working", as she hand-makes her own colours, materials, and models to try and create new and unique shapes and forms.

Clients include museums The Art Institute of Chicago, V&A, Rijksmuseum, furniture brands Herman Miller, Hay and Moroso, publisher Phaidon, Swedish retailer IKEA, silverware producer Georg Jensen and textiles company Maharam, among others.

Xiang is the founder of the Shanghai-based architecture studio X+Living. She will judge the interior categories for this year's programme.

Xiang and her studio have completed numerous retail, cultural and commercial projects in China, including Zhongshuge Bookstore and the indoor children's park Meland Club in various cities, as well as Bubble Mart's global flagship store in Shanghai.

She was the only Chinese designer to be listed among the most creative people in business by Fast Company in 2022.

Airey is the managing director of Bentley Motors Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, and is responsible for Bentley's operations and development in the Chinese market.

Airey is also the group managing director of Volkswagen Group Import Company (VGIC). He will join the design judges for this year's Dezeen Awards China.

With 30 years spent entirely in the automobile industry, Airey has acquired a wealth of experience covering strategy, sales, distribution, network development, operations and financial services.

Enter now!

Dezeen Awards China 2023 is open for entries. Find out about all of this year's categories and entry information on our website as well as Dezeen's WeChat account. Submit your entry before midnight Beijing time on 24 August to avoid late entry fees.

Click here to find out more information about Dezeen Awards China and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news. Plus you can always drop us a line at awardschina@dezeen.com, or connect with us on WeChat @DezeenCN, if you have any questions.

Dezeen Awards China 2023

Dezeen Awards China is the first regional edition of Dezeen Awards, to celebrate the best architecture, interiors and design in China. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.

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American designer Kelly Wearstler has created an intimate cocktail lounge within a hotel she designed in Austin, Texas, which is intended to evoke "a balance between old-world opulence and modern elegance".

The Quill Room forms an extension to the existing dining and drinking options at the Austin Proper Hotel and Residences, which Wearstler completed the interiors for in 2019.

The lounge is tucked away on the second floor of the Handel Architects-designed building in Downtown Austin, and offers a French-inspired menu and live music programming for the hotel's guests and residents.

Wearstler's interiors for the bar are awash with pattern, mixing gold, brown and black to create a space that appears warm, rich and elevated.

Many of the design elements blend nostalgia and contemporary twists, like tufted leather armchairs positioned beside funky sculptural lamps.

"The design of The Quill Room is a balance between old-world opulence and modern elegance," she told Dezeen. "The salon-style bar pairs the aesthetics to transport guests to another time within Downtown Austin, while still reflecting the city's creative and music scenes."

Golden patterned wallpaper covers the majority of the walls and continues across the ceiling, helping to make the room feel more intimate.

"A highlight would have to be the gold wall covering," said Wearstler. "It's actually an adaptation of a piece from my own archive, originally created during the UK's 1920s Arts & Crafts movement."

Small tables and mismatched seats are positioned in recesses, against folding panels with a checkerboard of gold mirrors and floral motifs within wooden frames.

Wearstler' also included low leather and upholstered seats, as well as taller dining chairs along the sheer-curtained windows.

Most of the furniture pieces are vintage, or were crafted specifically for this project, including the rugs, lighting and additional decorative items.

"The Quill Room features a lot of inspired furnishings that represent design through the decades – mainly from the 1960s to 1990s – which we've sourced from Europe and as nearby as the famed Round Top Antiques Market," Wearstler said.

The bar itself runs straight along the back wall, fronting an open cabinet filled with liquor bottles that is topped with red neon tubes. "It's a detail crafted by an Austin artist, bringing the modern and the local to the forefront amongst the vintage-inspired," said Wearstler.

Another feature element is the illuminated, self-playing Edelweiss piano that was custom designed to offer "a uniquely Texan experience" for guests. There's also a small, shaded outdoor terrace for enjoying drinks and bites in the warm Austin weather.

The new space joins the hotel's Mediterranean-influenced restaurant The Peacock, private ground-floor cocktail bar Goldie's, and Mexican-inspired rooftop restaurant and bar La Piscina.

"I see The Quill Room as a complement to The Austin Proper's existing restaurants and bars," Wearstler said. "Like the rest of the property, it embodies modern elegance and refined luxury that heightens guests' experience of the city while offering an immersive escape."

Wearstler has completed multiple locations for the Proper hotel group, including several outposts in her home state of California, such as San Francisco and Santa Monica – which was named AHEAD Americas Hotel of the Year in 2020.

Her most recent project for the franchise, in Downtown LA, opened last year and features a suite with its own indoor swimming pool.

The photography is by The Ingalls.

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American designer Kelly Wearstler has unveiled her Nudo furniture collection in an installation at stone company Arca's showroom during Miami art week.

The collection features 16 pieces of furniture, including chairs and tables, and six accessory pieces such as platters and bowls to complement the furniture.

Wearstler designed the pieces using marble supplied by the Miami-based stone company Arca.

"With these designs, I was deeply interested in exploring the possibility of creating a real softness through curvaceous shapes within the fortitude of marble," said Wearstler. "A nuanced and sensual interplay of suppleness and strength."

Wearstler's creations all feature different coloured-stone that was shaped in a way that resembles bounded cords. According to Wearstler, woven textures informed the way the stone was cut.

"The universal craft of weaving is rooted in ancient cultures from across the globe and each piece in Nudo pays homage to that history," she said.

A variety of marble types gave the Nudo pieces their multi-colour range, including verde tikal, pink marble, white beauty and calcite blue marble.

For the installation, Wearstler turned the interior of the Arca showroom – which was designed by Eraswe Studio and Superflex – into a lush, fabric-lined environment.

The entryway was swathed in a cool blue that featured a bar area and a wall with projections illustrating Arca's sourcing and design processes.

Guests were then led through a parting in the fabric into the main body of the installation.

Here, a series of rooms created by hanging fabric were colour coded to match the colours of the Nudo furniture pieces within. The fabric walls complemented the design process Wearstler employed in order to give the marble a "sculptural softness".

Mirrors and checkered carpets gave the installation a sense of depth, and the experience ended with a walk through Arca's stone library.

Wearstler's installation was complemented by a series of sculptures by Polish artist Alicja Kwade, which were presented in the courtyard of the building.

"Our presentation with Arca is an expression of what binds us together as the world converges in Miami to celebrate art and design," said Wearstler, who attended the opening night celebration at the warehouse last Tuesday.

The installation was among a number of events celebrating the release of products last week in Miami.

Others included the announcement of American musician A$AP Rocky's design studio Hommemade at the Design Miami booth of Italian design studio Gufram and an exhibition celebrating the work of designer Virgil Abloh with Nike.

Nudo is on show at the Arca Wynwood showroom from 29 November - 31 December 2022. See our Dezeen Events Guide for information about other architecture and design exhibitions, installations and talks.

The photography is by Nick Hudson. 

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American designer Kelly Wearstler has refurbished a pool for a suite in the Downtown LA Proper Hotel, which opened earlier this year.

As part of her studio's extensive refurbishment of the building, Wearstler took the 35-foot (10.6-metre) pool from its previous use as a YWCA and turned it into a feature for the Pool Suite on the seventh floor.

With Omgivning as the project architect, the 2,777-square-foot (258-square-metre) room is one of 148 that she renovated for the launch of the hotel in February 2022. It is the only location in the Proper Hotel group chain thats feature an in-suite swimming pool.

The room's interior takes art deco influences from the club that the building was originally designed for in the 1920s.

"During our initial research into the landmark building, we discovered this pool room originally shared a floor plate with guest rooms and so thought it would be a novel idea to transform it into an iconic suite with a private pool," said Wearstler.

Over the pool is an ivory ceramic mirror mural that covers the whole wall, created by artist Ben Medansky, who also worked with Wearstler on the Proper hotel in Santa Monica.

"It was important to me to avoid a repeating pattern and instead treat each tile as its own canvas – no two are exactly alike," said Medansky.

"I drew inspiration from my Los Angeles-to-Arizona road trips over the years, and incorporated motifs of tire treads, traffic signs, and cacti, which were then minimized, abstracted, and put back together in a puzzle formation."

In the pool room, there is also an expressive wooden statue that sits in front of a window that naturally illuminated the space. Against the mosaic, Wearstler has placed a thin black metal bench.

The floors surrounding the pool comprise multicoloured marble tiles – contributing to the 136 unique types of tile used across the hotel.

A small lounge area with pink chairs by Michael Felix is placed in the entryway that separates the pool from the rest of the suite.

The pool deck leads into an open kitchen, with similarly tiled floors and pink plaster walls by Studio One Plaster.

A marble backsplash, custom millwork made with light wood, and an island with Lostine barstools also feature in this space.

Meanwhile, a small dining table is accompanied by a set of Kelly Wearstler Martel Chairs.

A bedroom and lounge area have dark-stained wood floors and walls painted a rich yellow colour that surround windows overlooking Downtown LA.

The bathroom was lined with bronze and black tile made in house by Wearstler's team.

The LA-based designer is also behind a third Proper hotel in California, located in San Francisco and featuring an as the "eclectic" interior filled with vintage and European furniture.

The photography is by The Ingalls.

Project credits:

Design: Kelly Wearstler
Architect: Omgivning
Company: McGuire Builders
Hospitality: Group Proper Hospitality
Developer: The KOR Group in partnership with Frank Stork and Channing Henry

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American interior designer Kelly Wearstler paired the rich history of Downtown Los Angeles with other colourful global influences when creating this hotel, which features 136 unique types of tile.

Part of the Proper hotel group, Downtown LA Proper sits between Downtown Los Angeles' South Park District and the city's Fashion District.

The 148-room hotel is located within a former private club that was designed by architecture studio Curlett & Beelman in the 1920s.

Real estate developer The Kor Group teamed up with Wearstler to transform the building into Downtown LA Proper, with Wearstler spearheading the interior design.

According to Wearstler, the hotel's interiors take cues from LA's "creative scene", as well as the colours and forms of Mexican, Moroccan, Spanish and Portuguese design.

"My point of reference for the Proper Hotels is always the location, so Downtown LA Proper really called for bold and eclectic choices," she told Dezeen.

"As the design of the hotel was greatly inspired by the community and history of the area, I used a deep, warm, colour and feel throughout to speak to this rich culture and history," added Wearstler.

"The [hotel's overall] design comprises 136 unique types of tile, from vintage to custom."

Visitors enter the hotel via the building's original ornate archway, which is flanked by column-like cacti in rustic pots, where they are met with a graphite reception desk designed by ceramicist Morgan Peck.

The original pink and white checkerboard floor tiling was retained in this area, while the ceiling is decorated with a hand-painted multicoloured mural designed by Abel Macias, which drew on the flora and fauna of Mexican folktales.

This eclecticism is also reflected in Downtown LA Proper's guest rooms. Wearstler blended contrasting elements such as chunkily-patterned headboards with smooth wooden floors, while the walls vary within a spectrum of charcoal, mauve, dusty blue, umber and ecru.

The building contains three eateries including the lobby-level Caldo Verde restaurant and bar, which Wearstler designed to reflect the rest of the hotel's interiors.

A collection of vintage rugs and seating, cocoa and sandstone tiles and jungle-like plants are set against a bespoke stained-glass installation by Judson Studios that makes up the restaurant's doorway.

Other design elements that create Downtown LA Proper's bright and bold atmosphere include Mexican brutalist hand-carved chairs, woven pendant lights from the south of France and stone mosaic tables.

"The building itself is a historic-cultural monument, so we wanted to maintain some of the original integrity and fabric, like the window casing and brickwork, while elevating it with contemporary jewel tones, patterns and plasterwork," said Wearstler.

"I truly wanted to embark on a spirited exploration of materiality, colour and form, to share with guests a hyper-localised flavour of the city and create a hub for local creatives."

Wearstler founded her eponymous interior design studio in 1995 and is responsible for the eclectic interiors of several other Proper hotels including its San Francisco and Santa Monica outposts.

The designer also recently transformed a 1950s beachfront cottage in California into a bohemian retreat for her family.

The images are courtesy of Kelly Wearstler.

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Interior designer Kelly Wearstler has put an architectural spin on a Christmas classic, creating a gingerbread house in a California modernist style.

Wearstler designed the limited-edition Gingerbread Dreamhouse in collaboration with pastry chef Mark Tasker from New York restaurant Balthazar and entrepreneur Richard Christiansen from food retailer Flamingo Estate, with all proceeds going to charity.

"Gingerbread houses are such an iconic and traditional staple of the holiday season but Richard Christiansen of Flamingo Estate and I wanted to give them a classic Californian contemporary spin," Wearstler told Dezeen.

Instead of the typical gabled cottage, Wearstler's gingerbread house has the intersecting flat planes of a low-lying modernist home. Porthole windows and a white checkerboard icing facade, with varying sizes of checks, complete the look.

"We drew inspiration from many iconic mid-century and brutalist homes in Southern California, particularly Rudolph Schindler and Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic architecture," Wearstler said.

The structure is built entirely from gingerbread biscuits with icing as the bonding material.

While coming up with a design that would be strong and stable under these constraints was challenging, Wearstler found that mid-century style was actually perfectly suited to the task.

"The main challenge was designing an incredible house that could be easily assembled in the classic gingerbread style," said Wearstler. "We really leaned into the flat-pack, simple planes of modernist architecture and it truly all fell into place."

"In the end, we designed a house we would actually like to live in," she continued. "We often think of gingerbread homes existing in cold, alpine climates but ours is a desert home with sharp lines and a modern attitude."

One hundred Gingerbread Dreamhouses have been made in total, and are available to purchase via the Flamingo Estate website for US$650 (£490).

All proceeds will go to Create Structure, a charity that aids communities to rebuild after natural disasters.

Wearstler founded her design studio in 1995 and is best known for her hotel projects, such as San Francisco Proper, which combines vintage European design for an eclectic look.

Her recent work has included the renovation of a 1950s Malibu beachfront cottage and a virtual house-garage hybrid designed for basketball player LeBron James' electric Hummer.

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Interior designer Kelly Wearstler has transformed a 1950s beachfront cottage in Southern California into a bohemian retreat for herself and her family.

The project, called Malibu Surf Shack, entailed an interior renovation of a 1953 four-bedroom dwelling that was designed by an unknown architect. The wood-clad house is located in Broad Beach, which stretches along the Pacific Ocean.

Encompassing 4,254 square feet (395 square metres), the house was formerly owned by the American actor Carroll O'Connor, who played Archie Bunker in the 1970s television series All in the Family.

The property had been on the market for several years when Wearstler – who leads an eponymous studio in LA – decided to rent it for use during the summer. She set out to create a cosy live-work environment for herself and her surf-loving family.

The home sold after the owner photographed it with Wearstler's decor.

"I initially learned about the property through a friend who had stayed nearby three years ago and took me over to take a look," said Wearstler. "It was an architectural gem – a hidden, surf shack."

Wearstler took cues from the property's original details, including Japanese shoji screens. The home's wooden wall panelling was retained, but its shag carpet was replaced with seagrass.

Rooms were filled with an eclectic mix of vintage and contemporary pieces.

"I took inspiration from the house's architectural shell – its earthy and rustic tones," the designer said. "I wanted to choose objects that were hand-crafted, rustic and raw."

In the entryway, a bronze and leather bench by Chuck Moffit is paired with a chunky, blackened-wood console from the LA studio Base 10. Under a stairway, one finds a steel chair draped in white plaster – a piece by Austrian designer Lukas Gschwandtner.

In the living room, Wearstler placed a Soriana Sofa by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, and a 1950s lamp by American designer Mitchell Bobrick. The dining area – envisioned as a light-filled solarium – features an Isamu Noguchi pendant, Danish mid-century chairs, and a table adorned with foliage in vintage fibreglass vessels and earthen planters.

The plants include locally foraged sanguisorba, castor and tilandsia, which were sourced and arranged by LA florist Sophia Moreno Bunge.

The family room is dressed with lounge chairs by Ilmari Lappalainen, a tapered side table made of iroko wood, and cubic coffee tables finished in tortoiseshell. A 1980s green marble table by Mario Bellini is found in Wearstler's office.

A bedroom features light colours and casual decor, including linen bedding, a vintage nightstand, and a table lamp made of plaster and paper mâché. A lounge chair by Ryan Belli, which has a wooden base and a sculptural seatback, adds a bit of whimsy to the space.

The home has an abundance of plants, both inside and out, which were selected by Wearstler in collaboration with Bunge, the landscape designer Art Luna and the nursery Inner Gardens.

Other projects by Wearstler include an Austin hotel that features vintage rugs and a distinctive white oak staircase, and a San Francisco hotel with clashing colours and patterns.

Earlier this year, the designer released a conceptual design for a garage meant to house LeBron James's electric Hummer.

The photography is by Ingalls Photography and Mark Durling Photography.

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With less than 15 days to go to enter Dezeen Awards 2021, we've asked some of our judges what they're expecting from this year's entries.

"Design is an illustration of our time and I expect to see projects that are responses to the events of the past year," said American designer Kelly Wearstler.

"I want to see designs that really help to bring the vision of an evolving world into focus, particularly as we think about the increasing need for well-designed spaces, tools and objects in all aspects of our lives," she continued.

"Sometimes, the most exciting projects for me are the simplest ideas that are beautiful, fun or surprising."

Now in its fourth year, Dezeen Awards celebrates the world's best architecture, interiors and design as well as individuals and studios producing the most outstanding work.

Wearstler, who creates experiential residential, hospitality, commercial and retail environments as well as lifestyle product design collections, will be judging the interiors categories alongside Mlondolozi Hempe, Hector Esrawe, Petra Blaisse and Anouska Hempel.

Wearstler established her eponymous studio in Los Angeles in 1995. Notable projects include Santa Monica Proper Hotel, San Francisco Proper Hotel as well as custom residences for high-profile private clients.

"Technology continues to be a huge influence on design and materiality, making new designs more and more refined, while also being innovative," said Wearstler.

"It is also imperative that the environmental impact of design and architecture plays a key factor now as we look towards innovation, so I am expecting entries to be forward-thinking, or look at how design can positively impact our world today," she added.

"I'm always looking for what is new and next in the design world, and the Dezeen Awards provide a wonderful, inspiring platform to view talents from across the world."

"The global scale and different categories of the awards program is second to none, I'm truly honoured to be a part of the jury this year."

Enter Dezeen Awards 2021 now

There are now less than 15 days left to enter Dezeen Awards 2021. Entries close at midnight UK time on 2 June, so get started today in order not to miss out!

If you have any questions, please email awards@dezeen.com.

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American interior designer Kelly Wearstler has designed a virtual garage in the desert that she imagines housing basketball player LeBron James' electric Hummer.

Informed by California's modernist architecture and the landscape around Joshua Tree, the house-garage hybrid was designed to mark the launch of the electric Hummer with James envisioned as the client.

"I imagined that LeBron James, who is the ambassador for the Hummer EV, would live there," Wearstler told Dezeen.

"I wanted to create a super sexy home in the desert where his vehicle is a sculpture."

Wearstler designed the garage as there is an increased interest in virtual design due to several high-profile sales of digital artworks including the first NFT-backed digital house, which just sold for over half a million dollars.

"I think we are starting to see the value in virtual art and design more than ever before," said Wearstler.

"Since the pandemic began it has provided accessible and safe sources of escape and become highly valued,"  continued Wearstler, who is a judge for Dezeen Awards 2021.

"You now see virtual art and design being sold and auctioned for huge amounts."

As well as being a new frontier for her studio, building a virtual interior rather than a physical set for the Hummer EV launch was also a more environmentally conscious decision, said Wearstler.

"CGI is one of the greatest tools for designing and can be more sustainable in many different ways," explained the designer.

"The quality of these virtual interiors is also so high now that you are starting to lose boundaries between the virtual and the real," she added.

"I think we'll start to see them blending in more with real-life interiors so that we create a mix."

A 40-second-long concept video for the virtual interior shows an electric car driving through a desert landscape until it meets a set of interlocking bronze gates.

Past the gates, a canyon-style channel with sensor-controlled lights guides the car to a semi-underground parking bay.

A turntable lift then rises up with the car through a circular opening, slotting into the centre of an open plan living room above.

Renders of real Wearstler-designed furniture, such as the Echo bench and Monolith side table, populate the virtual garage.

Renders of other pieces including Erik Olovsson's Drill Vases a Loop Chair by Willy Guhl and Jan Ekselius' Etcetera Chair also feature.

For design inspiration, Wearstler blended midcentury architecture styles such as brutalism and modernism with futuristic sci-fi elements.

"I really wanted the visuals to have a retro-futuristic vibe that draws on the spirit of California," said Wearstler

"Some of the most iconic sci-fi films from the 1960s and 70s inspired the project like Ridley Scott's Alien and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: Space Odyssey," she added.

"There is a really strong influence from California's modernist architecture too, particularly John Lautner's Palm Springs house, and the design of the Hummer EV, which influenced the architectural form, huge skylight and bronze accents."

The Hummer EV is carmaker GMC's first electric vehicle. Described by the brand as a "supertruck" the electric car will be able to drive off-road and even in a diagonal direction.

The liveable garage is also part of a new trend of designers working with luxury vehicles. David Adjaye recently design five Aston Martin-themed residences for his New York skyscraper 130 William.

Virgil Abloh has designed a concept car for Mercedes Benz, and Thomas Heatherwick unveiled a concept sketch for an electric car for Chinese car brand IM Motors.

Images courtesy of Kelly Wearstler.

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Interior designer Kelly Wearstler included eye-catching details such as vintage rugs and a white oak staircase that doubles as a ceramics display in her design for the Austin Proper Hotel and Residences.

Built in 2019 by New York firm Handel Architects, the 32-storey hotel and apartments managed by McGuire Moorman Hospitality is located in Downtown Austin, Texas.

Los Angeles-based Wearstler, who will be on the interiors panel as a Dezeen Awards 2021 judge, created the aesthetic for the 244 rooms and 99 "branded residences."

Her interior design for the hotel revolves around local art and textiles, with some eclectic vintage elements thrown in.

A focal point is a sculptural staircase made of white oak wood with stepped balustrades.

An interesting backdrop has been created by showcasing the underside of the staircase steps, while a ziggurat of plinths below is used to display a range of glazed earthenware pots and vases.

Custom panelling along the walls of the hotel is made from cypress wood, charred using the traditional Japanese technique of Shou Sugi Ban to create a tiger-striped effect.

Mismatched vintage rugs run up the stairs, and a mix of chairs and armchairs upholstered in patterned fabric are scattered around the lobby.

Tiles by Austin ceramicist Rick Van Dyke appear as inlays on furniture such as cabinets, and fibre artwork by local artist Magda Sayeg, known for her yarn bombing installations, are hung in the bedrooms alongside antique mirrors.

The fifth floor features a pool deck clad with locally quarried travertine, where Mexican restaurant La Piscina serves small-batch tequila.

There are three other eateries in Austin Proper Hotel and Residences including Peacock, which serves Mediterranean food against a backdrop of parquet floors covered in more vintage rugs and walls covered in Portuguese-style tiles.

A private dining area, screened off by walls made of full wine racks, features botanical wallpaper.

The interior of The Mockingbird, a coffee shop that serves Greek frozen yoghurt, was decked out in more colourful tiles by Wreastler.

Small square tiles cover the walls and form a pattern of powder blue, seafoam green, inky navy blue and pale burnt orange colours.

Austin Proper Hotel and Residences also has a drinking establishment called Goldie's Sunken Bar, which has a cobalt blue-painted bar, low stuffed armchairs and a high ceiling covered in opulent wallpaper.

All over the hotel, walls are hug with art and niches are filled with ceramics. Pot plants filled with hardy desert species add splashes of greenery.

The 99 apartments attached to the hotel also have interiors designed by Kelly Wearstler. Their occupants have access to the hotel's amenities as well as a private pool, along with dog grooming and concierge services.

Kelly Wearstler is an interior designer based on America's west coast. Recent collaborations for the same hotel franchise include the San Francisco Proper and the Santa Monica Proper.

Photography is by The Ingalls.

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American designer Kelly Wearstler describes how she worked with local artisans and artists on the Santa Monica Proper Hotel in this video produced by Dezeen for the AHEAD Awards.

Wearstler is the designer of Santa Monica Proper Hotel, a 271-room boutique hotel seven blocks away from the beach in Santa Monica, California.

The project was named Hotel of the Year at the 2020 AHEAD Americas hospitality awards, as well as winner of the Guestrooms and Lobby & Public Spaces categories.

The Californian interior designer, who has appeared as a judge on the Bravo reality show Top Design and designed homes for celebrities including Cameron Diaz and Gwen Stefani, described the hotel as "fiercely local" in an exclusive interview filmed by Dezeen.

"We wanted to design a hotel where it felt like you're in Santa Monica," she said. "The inspiration came from everything that surrounds the hotel, the palm trees, the organic nature of the architecture, everything that you would find at the beach."

Natural and heavily textured materials, neutral colours and vintage furniture are used throughout the hotel to create a sensory experience that references Santa Monica's beachside identity.

"There is a connection of materiality that speaks to the location" said Wearstler. "Organic materials, neutral colour stories, everything has a texture."

"There's a patina, there's a hand, there's something that feels very warm."

Santa Monica Proper Hotel is filled with artworks and furniture pieces created specifically for the property by local artists and artisans.

"Everything's connected to somebody that is local in the city," Wearstler said. "We're so lucky to be in Los Angeles, the talent pool here is extraordinary."

The site consists of the 1920s Santa Monica Professional Building, to which an extension by local firm Howard Laks Architects was added.

"There's an historic building that was built in 1928, in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, and then there's a new contemporary building," explained Wearstler. "We had to connect these two buildings with one voice."

"The atmosphere is something that's just very relaxed," the designer asserted. "When you come to California, it's just super relaxed and it's friendly, and there is a sense of style – it's just cool. We can connect you to that coming to Santa Monica Proper."

The hotel is the latest in the Proper brand, which was founded by Wearstler's developer husband Brad Korzen alongside hotelier Brian De Lowe, following the San Francisco Proper which Wearstler also designed.

Previous hospitality collaborations from Wearstler and Korzen include the Tides hotel in South Beach, Florida, the Avalon and Maison 140 hotels in Beverly Hills, and hotels for the Viceroy brand in Miami, Palm Springs and Santa Monica.

This year's AHEAD Americas awards were shown in a video ceremony as part of Dezeen's Virtual Design Festival after the event was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Previous winners of the Hotel of the Year award include the opulent Siren Hotel in Detroit and the Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa, a renovated motel in California.

This video was produced by Dezeen for AHEAD. Photography is by The Ingalls and Matthieu Salvaing.

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American interior designer Kelly Wearstler scoured vintage shops to source the eclectic furniture that decorates the living room-style lobby of this hotel in Santa Monica, California.

Santa Monica Proper occupies the 1920s Santa Monica Professional Building and a curvilinear extension designed by local firm Howard Laks Architects.

Located on Wilshire Boulevard in the coastal Californian city, it forms the latest Proper, a company that Wearstler's her husband Brad Korzen founded with Brian De Lowe.

Wearstler also designed the San Francisco Proper that features clashing patterns, colours and textures, and vintage furniture.

The interior designer developed the Santa Monica outpost to incorporate a similarly eclectic mix of details in palettes that allude to its beach setting.

The sprawling lobby and ground floor restaurant contains a mix of contemporary furniture and repurposed finds from vintage shops. She chose the eclectic mix paired with various greenery to make it feel like a large living room, to encourage visitors to relax.

"When we started with all the design, we started shopping for all the furniture and it took quite some time," Wearstler told Dezeen.

"They are not just the normal vintage pieces that you would associate with California easy living," she added. "There's a lot of really great anomaly."

There are a number of different seating areas designed for both working or enjoying a drink from the bar. These include tables accompanied by different chairs, and white nooks fitted with curved sofas.

"It's a really great meeting place we created these alcoves that are really great spaces for dining, meetings and just hanging out," the designer added. "It just feels someone's living room. It's just super relaxed. It's easy."

The lobby is punctuated with huge, tile clad columns with bulbous tops. Walls are rendered with hand-troweled, pitted gritty plaster texture and the floors are covered in patterned woodwork.

"If you have a bird's eye view on the reception, the pattern of the wire brushed oak hardwood floors is reminiscent of opened umbrellas," Wearstler said. "So there's a lot of very multi-directional activity on the floor, which was really interesting in this curvaceous shaped reception."

The designer created a custom-made reception desk from wood. The front is covered in striations that are reminiscent of a beach shell.

Other details include a large pair of vintage fan-shaped bamboo wall lights designed by Ingo Maurer.

"Those are quite amazing to find a pair; there was only a very small amount produced and they were actually made in a small village in Japan," Wearstler added.

Santa Monica Proper has 271 guest suites split across both the landmarked building and the new structure. Wearstler chose floral wallpaper and deeper hues for the rooms in the existing building and a muted, neutral palette for those in the extension. Textiles and wall coverings are from the designer's own collection.

A common theme across the two buildings is a curved headboard in the hotel rooms. "The bed is a radius headboard that reminded me of a sunset in California," she said.

The hotel also has a rooftop – a key feature for each Proper outpost. In Santa Monica, this includes the restaurant Calabra decorated with richly textured dark wood, brickwork and stone.

A private swimming pool and deck is located to one side of the rooftop. Near its entrance, it features nooks reminiscent of those in the ground floor lobby. The rear is more open and comprises curved seating areas tucked among large plants.

Santa Monica Proper is completed with a fitness centre and an ayurvedic spa that will open in early 2021.

Photography is by The Ingalls, unless stated otherwise.

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American designer Kelly Wearstler has used clashing patterns, colours and textures to decorate a hotel in San Francisco, alongside notable furniture pieces from various European design movements.

San Francisco Proper is located in a "flatiron"-shaped structure built in 1926. Based in Los Angeles, Wearstler retained the original character of the lobby and lounge spaces.

Across all of the spaces, she chose an elaborate layering of geometric shapes alongside more organic, floral forms to create a colourful juxtaposition.

The overall design combines several design styles – from modernism to Victorian florals – into a very eclectic blend.

"The city is our muse in everything, from the palette and materials to local artists and rich European influences," said Wearstler. "We looked to bring something new to San Francisco by collaging a reimagining of past, present and future."

The historic building is constructed of brick, stone and terracotta, and spans seven storeys. Its 131 guest rooms are all are uniquely designed.

Throughout the ground floor are pillars and moulding, along with marble details. Interiors are kept white, allowing colourful artwork and furniture pieces to pop.

In the lounge, or "salon", intimate sitting areas are formed from pods of sofas, tables, and chairs to create series of living room vignettes.

Wearstler designed this sitting area as "a classic salon in the European manner: intelligent, sophisticated, and sensual in its mix of materials, design elements and art".

Hundreds of pieces of artwork and lighting fixtures decorate the space, adding a sense of abundance under the tall ceilings.

"Deep colours, rich textures and natural materials complement the patina of the original building," said the designer.

A restaurant in the hotel is designed with reference to French cubist painter Jacques Villon – brother of artist Marcel Duchamp – and is decorated using various European styles. Shades of blue, black and yellow decorate the space, with geometric forms found in triangular chars and gridded floors.

Throughout the hotel, particularly in the Villon restaurant, marble and black wall sconces are evocative of work from French architect and designer Pierre Chareau.

Other pieces reference projects from the Wiener Werkstätte – a movement in early-1900s Vienna, founded by a community of designers who produced fixtures, ceramics, clothes, furniture and graphics.

These elements are a reference to Wearstler's interest in the time period. Her studio's logo is designed in the same way that Werkstätte combined their initials into graphics.

Another dining area in the hotel is called Gilda's, and overflows with bold orange, purple and red tones. The intimate room is tucked away near the lobby, and includes a vintage 150-piece table setting.

A rooftop bar with an outdoor area – Charmaine's – is decorated with prints and art in soft blues, pinks, and greys.

"Charmaine's penthouse lounge and garden recall the spirit of the romantics surrounded by magnificent views of the city, spanning the Bay to the Pacific Ocean," said the designer, who described the overall style of the interior as "opulent but never stuffy".

San Francisco Prosper's eclectic design offers a contrast to several more pared-back hotels that have opened or completed renovations recently. They include in the Ace Hotel in Chicago by Commune with mid-century furniture, a Copenhagen hotel by Arne Jacobsen with original features and furniture, and a dining room in a London hotel with black chairs by Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret.

Photography is by Manolo Yllera with Proper Hospitality. Top image is by Noah Webb.

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