Welcome to Baroque April!
This month we delve into Baroque architecture and interior design. Baroque is on the trend list for 2017. I spent some time researching the period and its modern influence and discovered a world of information which could not be contained in one post.
Part 1
I’m a woman who loves seeing the rise of other women. Although there are men I respect in every industry, there is something extra special about a woman’s story because it sounds like my story; I can relate to it; I find myself in parts of that story. It’s particularly interesting for me to view the female doers and shakers in the Interior Design industry because women were believed merely to have an interest in homes but their careers as designers were not respected (as were all working women). This is true for the industry as a whole, in that it has not been and still is not respected, but mostly for women. It was seen as a pass time for the wealthy and very well connected aristocratic women who were bored merely attending social events. So when a woman turns what society views as an expected “hobby’ into a multi million dollar career, best believe I’m spending countless hours finding out who she is.
Kelly is the influence behind my monthly Meet The Woman feature. Every month I will be profiling a woman who is changing the world of architecture and interior design or whom I find interesting.
Who is Kelly Wearstler?
Kelly Wearstler is an American interior designer. She founded KWID (Kelly Wearstler Interior Design) in the mid-1990s and went on to work with the hotel industry formulating strong networks; great respect; a recognizable style; and; a stellar reputation. She has been dubbed as the presiding grande dame of West Coast interior design by The New Yorker and the New York Times believes that her playful, elegantly over-the-top designs for the Avalon Beverly Hills changed the look of boutique hotels around the world.
Her career in design spans over two decades and she is said to be the queen of modern baroque interiors.
She has a bachelor’s degree in Interior and Graphic Design from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Some of her clients include Gwen Stefani (I LOVE HER) and Cameron Diaz. After a short stint pursuing a career as a set decorator, she was scouted for Playboy as Miss September 1994. She used the money to pay off her student loans and start her interior design business. Resourceful woman!
In 1995 she met her would be husband, real estate developer Brad Korzen. She designed his house in Hollywood Hills and later went onto design several of the residential properties owned by his company Kor Realty Group.
What else?
She is a mother and wife.
Kelly has also written a number of books on design, find some of them here. In the next few months I will be writing a book review on one of her books which has sparked my interest. Stay tuned.
And if writing, designing and raising a family isn’t time consuming enough, Kelly also launched Kelly Wearstler Boutique at Bergdorf Goodman’s decorative home floor. Her interiors products including bedding; furniture; wallpapers and more can also be found on her online store. As part of her lifestyle brand she also has a line of jewellery; chocolates; pets accessories; fragrances etc.
Her Instagram account is said to be one of the top Instagram accounts to follow by numerous design publications.
That’s enough reading for the day, catch Part 2 next Monday where we will zoom more into her style; work through these last two decades; her work influenced by the Baroque period.
:)x B
#BWithBaroqueApril #BWithTheBaroque #BWithKellyWearstler #MeetTheWoman
Buhle Bendalo Designs 
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