Santa Monica Proper: Kelly Wearstler Builds a Coastal Interior Through Texture
Santa Monica Proper approaches its coastal setting through the surfaces people encounter at close range. Kelly Wearstler’s interiors bring together wood, ceramics, woven coverings and furniture from different periods, creating a setting whose identity depends on texture as much as on its relationship with the ocean. The project occupies a historic building and a contemporary addition, an architectural pairing that gives the designer two different starting points.
The hotel opened in 2019, bringing Wearstler’s material vocabulary to rooms and public spaces within both buildings. Their different architectural conditions give the interior a sequence of contrasts, held together by recurring colours, textures and objects. [1] [2] [8]
Connecting two architectures
The studio describes a palette of muted tones, aged timber and patinated metal that provides continuity between the buildings. In the lobby, ceramic-clad columns and patterned oak flooring establish that approach immediately. The shared language allows furniture and artworks to vary without making the hotel feel like a collection of unrelated rooms.
Guestrooms were conceived differently for each building. Their shared atmosphere accommodates variations in windows, proportions and inherited architectural details. This gives the guest interiors a connection to the architecture immediately around them, while the recurring palette maintains continuity across the hotel. [1] [2]
Palma and the scale of conversation
In Palma, Wearstler organizes the social interior around smaller groups of seating. Wool rugs give these arrangements their own territories, and sheer window treatments turn attention toward the room. The official project description identifies furniture spanning the 1950s to the present alongside contemporary pieces, including work by Taylor Kibby and Los Angeles-based Lland Studio.
Read spatially, the approach gives a large hospitality setting some of the choices associated with a home. Guests can occupy a defined corner rather than feel exposed in an undifferentiated lobby. The furniture does more than supply visual variety; its grouping helps establish different degrees of participation in the shared space. [3]
The library as a quieter counterpoint
The Grotto develops a more enclosed mood. The studio records grasscloth wall coverings, oak joinery, patinated cypress and an art collection assembled over several years. Its relatively low ceiling, partly determined by the building’s mechanical requirements, became a starting point for a more intimate room.
The library’s close proportions support the sense of retreat suggested by its books and collected objects. The low ceiling and enclosing joinery bring attention to the room’s immediate contents. Within the larger hotel, this creates a quieter tempo using materials already familiar from the more open social spaces. [4]
A material identity supported by craft
Delta Millworks identifies Cypress Select finishes in Navajo White and Taupe among its contributions to the hotel. Astek’s grasscloth wall coverings add another woven surface across several interiors. Timber and wallcovering provide a textured background for the more expressive furniture and objects.
Santa Monica Proper’s coastal character accumulates through timber grain, woven surfaces, glazed ceramics and furniture silhouettes. A relatively restrained background allows individual pieces to hold attention. From Palma’s seating groups to the enclosed Grotto, the palette also helps distinguish between joining the hotel’s social life and finding a place to withdraw. [5] [6]
Comments