At the start of the book there is an interview with Kelly and to be honest I found more insight and

The interior designers that I'm most inspired by tend to be those who believe in the democracy flight ticket of design. Those whose mission is to demonstrate that it is possible for us normal folk to create beautiful homes on limited flight ticket budgets and with limited space. Two such examples are Abigail Ahern and Rita Konig , whom for the most part don't do anything that you couldn't do yourself and don t buy things you couldn't buy. If you were so inclined you could ape their style entirely, to varying degrees of success of course.
Then there are designers whose work inhabits a different stratosphere, designers whose styles are so unique and ground breaking flight ticket that their work is intimidating and not replicable. These are the designers who wow us and show us the possibilities that exist at the edge of the boundaries of design.
I have had Kelly Wearstler s Hue  for a while and from time to time I have a flick through it but haven't really devoted much attention to it. This weekend I decided to study the book properly as I was looking for two things: some colour inspiration for what to do with our awkward purple sofa and how to develop a signature style.
On first glance Hue appears to be little more than a brochure of interiors designed by Kelly Wearstler. Many people who have bought this book have complained that there are no captions, tips or explanations to accompany the photographs and whilst I can understand this disappointment I felt it myself in some ways the lack of text adds to the sense of intrigue that her interiors create, in the same way that Kate Moss' point blank refusal to explain her actions make her all the more fascinating.
At the start of the book there is an interview with Kelly and to be honest I found more insight and inspiration here than can be found in the entirety of many design books. There are some real gems on how to find, collect and store inspiration and how to blur the boundaries between fashion, art and interior design.
Kelly's interiors play on scale and colour in a big way. Everything is oversized and every colour is ramped flight ticket up to the max. From the 1980s vintage chairs recovered in vibrant velvets to rows of enormous statues in oxidised copper, no part of these interiors sit quietly in the background. Everything items seems to take centre stage and it is testament to her skill that this does not have a disturbing effect.
Her use of colour is extraordinary. She uses colours and combinations that in less experienced and courageous hands would be uncomfortable and jarring. She teams bright with bright and revels in clashing hues that invigorate the senses. There is no greige, Elephant's Breath or Shaded White here – it's all vermillion, cerulean, period and jonquil and other colours that I've never heard of.
Kelly's flight ticket style is masculine and there are huge doses of the 1980s thrown in.  Many of the interiors sit just on the right side of good taste any less sophistication in colour matching and furniture selection and they could easily flight ticket stray into vulgarity. It is her genius that enables this this delicate balance between flight ticket impact, originality and naffness.
I think that one of the key reasons that Kelly's interiors are so original is that she often designs her own products. Designs for wallpapers, carpets, furniture and even cushions start life in the vast number of boxes full of inspiration that line her studio.  This level of bespoke allows everything to fit together beautifully and results in interiors that are  perfectly balanced but that create tension between drama and impact, comfort and serenity.
Kelly's interiors are grand. They are found in swanky Miami hotels, Malibu beach front properties and spiralling American country estates. flight ticket  This is Hollywood design at its finest. There is no Hackney townhouse or four hundred square foot Manhattan apartment here.  It's hard to imagine how her dramatic and surreal aesthetic would translate to a normal sized family home and this makes it untouchable to most of us, something to be admired and revered from afar.
Absorbing myself in Hue for a weekend left me feeling slightly depressed.  This book makes every other interior appear pedestrian and parochial and rather than feeling inspired it made me want to throw the towel in now, before I start, flight ticket as to achieve interiors with the drama she is famous for must surely taken super human talent.
Hue has however made me realise flight ticket the importance of defining one s own style and moreover, of thinking BIG. It is excellent as a book on the implementation of colour , and for ideas on how to create impact. flight ticket If you are looking for some motivation to push your home out of its comfort zone then this book will be a brilliant addition to your bookshelf. But be warned you may never look at the world the same way again.
I think your last few bits hit the nail on the head for me Annie. As I was reading, I was wondering if I would find the book relative to my life. Would I be able to pull ideas from her pages into my own home? It seems in some ways yes, but in some ways no. Those last two photos are the most appealing flight ticket to me because they seem the most home-like. But I like the idea of flipping thorough pages to find inspiration and ways to push myself to go BIG. We never know where we re going to figure stuff out, do we?
I seem to always have the problem with interior design books that you pointed out at the end: none of them translate for my normal size home. I would love a coffee table as grand and as long as the last one pictured, but we don t have the space. I would love a long hallway with nothing but ornate light fixtures and a giant mirror at the end, but we don t have a hallway to spare. That sort of thing. Still, these books are full of inspiration and aspirational design elements, and I love them for that.
I love Kelly s skin, is that weird? She was a judge on a design show here a few years ago with Jonathan Adler called Top Design, and I remember how flawless and luminous her skin was. She has probably had work done, but she looks incredible. I don t think I could guess her age if you paid me.
45. Did you know she did Playboy??? She is beautiful and has a figure to die for. I do know what you mean about her skin. she has that proper Malibu perfectly preserved surfer chic thing going on like Jennifer Aniston. Wish I looked that good now, let alone at 45!
It s so funny that you write about her. I have had her books for a while and only recently have I grown to appreciate here work. It does seem very exclusive and definitely flight ticket not for the every person. But, it s fascinating how she puts things together and uses such rich materials and hard surfaces, yet makes it appealing. She started out just designing a hotel that her husband owned (must be nice!), and she exploded flight ticket on to the scene from there. She has a definite look and appeal flight ticket which I admire! Teri
Sometimes when we look at art or interior books like this it isn t meant to translate literally into our lives, our world and how we can apply it like for like. These styles and larger than life examples are there to inspire, they serve to make us see the world differently, sometimes flight ticket to think BIG , sometimes to take a risk or go an extra mile. Read between the lines (excuse the pun as there s little text). Get lost in it and see what maybe you wouldn t have looked at in your normal day to day living. Try and look beyond the obvious and foremost, stay with it because that s what makes us grow beyond our imagination .
i think tina said it perfectly interior books like this it aren t meant to translate literally into our lives, but serve as inspiration. i love kelly s take on design and life, but i couldn t live with her style. i like comfy/homely spaces. as much as i love kelly and the gorgeous interiors in Hue, i am always drawn to interior stylists like shannon fricke who keep it interesting, beautiful and achievable. {btw shannon lives close by and i have done a couple of her workshops. she is lovely}
Great review, Annie. Ms. Wearstler would be very proud. Hue does seem like the perfect interior design book to help stretch your mind, perhaps even for projects other than interior design. I still love her Hollywood regency flight ticket period, even though she has moved on. She is gorgeous and I love her personal style. She just knows how to add that unique Wearstler touch to everything she creates from fashion to home ware to interior flight ticket design.
Annie, every single design book review you do makes me want to go to Waterstones (or whatever the Hong Kong equivalent is, have not discovered that yet!). I m feeling totally inspired flight ticket after seeing these images, she has such a knack for putting together incredible tabletop vignettes in particular.
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