Top interior designer Kelly Wearstler has been synonymous with a distinctively West Coast glamour—’70s cool shot through with a liberal dose of Old Hollywood—ever since she established her namesake firm 30 years ago. A member of Architectural Digest’s Hall of Fame, the South Carolina native has overseen the design of hotels (Viceroy Santa Monica, Avalon Beverly Hills) and restaurants (at Bergdorf Goodman in New York), as well as partnering with Serax, the Rug Company, Hummer, and other brands. She was the first outside designer tapped to create a new palette for the legendary British paint company Farrow & Ball.
Wearstler’s latest effort is the Substack-based newsletter Wearstlerworld, in which she plans to share behind-the-scenes looks at her life as well as tips and tricks for travel and decorating.
Wearstler logs around 150,000 air miles annually, pinballing back and forth between the West Coast (she lives in Beverly Hills) and Europe, and vacationing with her husband, developer Brad Korzen, and their three sons, Oliver, Elliott, and Crosby, who are 20, 21, and 2 1/2 years old. Her carrier of choice is Air France (but only if she absolutely has to go commercial). “Flying private is top of my list, of course, when it works out, but I really love Air France,” she says. “I just flew La Première to Paris. I was able to get upgraded from Business. You get taken right to the airplane. And in the first-class lounge in Paris, I recently had a six-hour layover, and I got a facial and a massage.”
Here are her best travel hacks (besides fly private, of course).
Checking luggage? Book two cars.
For the last 10 years, I have had two drivers pick me up when I land at LAX. I get off the plane and greet one driver and give him my luggage ticket. I leave, and he then waits to pick up my luggage at the carousel and drives it home. I get right out of there, and he shows up 45 minutes later. Wherever you go regularly and know a driver, you can do that—like in Austin, where I know my driver too.
Don’t mess with Uber et al. when you’re on a trip.
A hired driver is essential to getting around town with no time wasted. I always plan out my day so I’m super-efficient: a gallery, a studio visit with an artist, stopping in at a bookstore, going to museums and maybe a vintage clothing store for fashion. I have bags; I don’t want to lug that stuff around. I can just pop it in the car. And there’s no time [fooling] around on your phone calling the Uber. I don’t book one through my hotel, because there’s usually a surcharge on it. There are limo services in every city, so you can just look online and call them.
Avid surfers should book a trip to this far-flung island.
