A Look Inside the Uber Cool Kelly Wearstler-Designed Hotel Everyone Is Talking About
If you're not yet acquainted with the work of prolific designer Kelly Wearstler, we suggest you familiarise yourself pronto. The interiors entrepreneur has become the poster girl for luxurious eclecticism, with an inspiring catalogue of chairs, wallpapers, lighting and rugs to her name. As well as an extensive and breathtaking retail offering, Wearstler is also sought after for her unique eye and unmistakable attention to detail that she often utilises to design both residential and commercial projects around the globe. The one that everyone (including us) can't stop liking, pinning and chatting about at the moment is Santa Monica Proper Hotel—a 217-room accommodation spot on the glorious shores of California's Pacific Ocean.
Arranged as a series of rooms, suites, and inviting public spaces for guests, Santa Monica Proper is housed within a Spanish Mission Revival building that served its former life as a series of medical suites. With a sympathetic approach, Wearstler and Howard Laks Architects joined forces to reinvigorate and reinvent this local icon into a Cali-cool destination that's high on everyone's bucket list right now. Wedged between Venice and Pacific Palisades, the boutique hotel benefits from the cool ocean breeze and a sun-drenched disposition that makes it alluring for locals and international nomads alike.
As a part of the Proper group of hotels and residences, Santa Monica's newest hot spot permeates the ethos of "loose luxury" and features a selection of highly curated amenities that set the franchise apart as innovators in modern travel. Guests of Santa Monica Proper are made to feel as though they're locals, not tourists. Unforgettable and distinctly Californian experiences are at your fingertips here, including a lesson with a surfing champion and an ocean meditation adventure. If you'd prefer to stay in, a plethora of world-class amenities such as a panoramic rooftop pool and in-house spa means you never need to leave.
Inside, the design and decoration of this hotel will have any interiors addict hooked from the first glimpse. Kelly has completely reimagined the notion of a neutral palette, finding a genius way to combine a restrained colour palette with alluring and avant-garde textures, for example, the irregular parquet floors that defy logic but radiate an organic warmth that you can't help but admire. From natural fibre wallpaper to one-off bamboo armchairs and flea market gems, the creative collaborators on this project have managed to provide their visitors with a lush and comfortable home base to thrive in. Throw in ever-changing exotic foliage arrangements and gigantic indoor palms and you'll swear you've died and gone to hotel heaven.
Images courtesy of Santa Monica Proper. Photography by The Ingalls.
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