Malibu beach house

Malibu beach house by Designer Kelly Wearstler

Malibu beach house by Designer Kelly Wearstler signifies a new wave in the designer’s style with a castaway allure.

Kelly Wearstler is an American designer creating multi-faceted, experiential residential, hospitality, commercial and retail environments as well as expansive collections of lifestyle product designs. With the demonstration of provocative concepts and expressive narratives signature to her extensive body of work, Wearstler is internationally recognized with distinctive design awards and numerous publications.

Situated above Malibu beach’s incoming tide, this airy seaside residence belonging to Kelly Wearstler and her family signifies a new wave in the designer’s style.  The home has a castaway allure with a sun-bleached color palette that is muted yet complex, consisting of shades of driftwood taupe, misty gray, watery green, and shell pink.

The panoramic seascape view from the home’s expansive floor-to-ceiling windows provides an ideal backdrop for the designer’s inspiration for the home – objects one might find on the beach, such as a striated wall hanging by Sheila Hicks evocative of a sea fan, a light fixture reminiscent of seaweed, a sculpture in the form of a nautilus shell and stools of petrified wood.  At the center of the residence, a vast skylight draws the focus to a towering tree that is planted in the main hall and fills the home’s two stories, once again creating a seamless transition between the inside and out.  Wave-patterned marble walls that evoke the feeling of abstract art and chunky, modernist furniture contradict the idyllic setting, yet the result is a cohesively organic, raw, and textural. 

The house was built in the 1990s and was very nondescript – a white stucco house. Our renovation was a total rebuild. It’s a modern style house, 2-levels, approximately 5,600 sq. ft (525 square meters).  It has an open floor plan, gets great light, and feels so open and warm for a family retreat. The rooms flow effortlessly into one another. It is the ideal balance of seclusion and togetherness. The bedrooms are intimate and private, yet the communal spaces have a free flow and easy vibe that is ideal for entertaining.

The materials and finish of the outside of the house are done with frameless glass railing, teak wood deck, pickled cedar wood paneling with copper detailing, blackened metal uplight sconces.

She says, “Design is storytelling.  I always want to tell evocative stories, adventurous and full of soul, incorporating mixology of materials and influences.  My philosophy:  Love color.  Take risks.  Stay Curious. My aesthetic is about mixology. Always something old and something new, raw and refined, masculine and feminine. The tension of opposites, the juxtaposition of seemingly dichotomous things interests me very much. That combination is sexy and unexpected. Favorite motifs, black and white, graphic, classic sculpture, and the figural form.  Take classic shapes and forms and use scale and materiality to create a modern interpretation that is unexpected.”

The interiors of this home were very much inspired by vintage 70s California. The Malibu beach surf culture is so raw and unaffected, yet innately cool and glamorous. I chose colors and materials that felt like they might be found on the beach. It is relaxed, elegant with a clever nod to history and important vintage.  All of the furniture is low to keep the eye level with the ocean. Dwelling in this space is akin to a journey into the immense expanse that surrounds…

Contact Details: www.kellywearstler.com