How to Thrift the Kelly Wearstler Look

Get the look of the celebrity interior designer, on a budget

I first became acquainted with Kelly Wearstler when she appeared as a judge on the short-lived Bravo show Top Design. For those unfamiliar, the show was Top Chef for interior designers, with contestants asked to design rooms based on certain requirements (using only furniture purchased at garage sales, for instance).

The show only ran for two seasons in 2007 and 2008 but Kelly, IMO, was the breakout star. She was Carrie Bradshaw — a woman who cared about every single aspect of her aesthetic: hair, makeup, hats, shoes … it was all on point, and it was all inspiring.

Kelly is best known for designing high-end residential, commercial, retail and hospitality spaces and she really put “glam” on the map. But her aesthetic has evolved considerably over the years. The colors are more muted these days yet the spaces still as impactful.

I think the best way to describe’s Kelly’s look is: luxe. It’s fairly easy to pick out a Kelly Wearstler-designed space because every single element is thought-through, just like the outfits she wore on Top Design. Bathrooms use floor-to-ceiling marble, living rooms are kitted out in over-the-top upholstery.

But my favorite Kelly Wearstler element is undoubtedly her use of vintage.

As she told Forbes in a 2019 interview, her spaces are best defined by “the tension of opposites, the juxtaposition of seemingly dichotomous things. Always something old with something new, raw and refined, masculine and feminine, classic and contemporary. These combinations are sexy and unexpected.” 

Kelly’s spaces all have a modern sensibility, but she is an expert at utilizing pieces of vintage art and furniture to achieve a really sophisticated and sexy end result.

For this second installment of Thrift the Look, I’ll dive into Kelly Wearstler’s interior design work, and offer my tips on how to achieve a similar aesthetic, simply by shopping vintage.