Interior designer Kelly Wearstler combined clay plaster walls with Moroccan cement tiles at this eclectic cocktail bar in downtown LA’s Proper Hotel.
The national flower of Mexico Dahlia The bar has a red interior designed to echo the rest of the hotel – and created Wearstler.
The designer looked to the same Spanish, Mexican and Moroccan influences that define the wide Downtown LA is perfectLike the terracotta Roman clay plaster walls and ceilings when conceptualizing the bar.
„The warm, earthy tones of the lounge are in harmony with the larger hotel, while also hitting their own note throughout,” said Werstler.
„Dahlia feels like it’s been around for years,” said the designer, who was named a judge for the inaugural DeScene Awards China.
Visitors enter the bar through yellow stained glass doors custom-made for the historic Los Angeles location. Judson StudiosIt claims to be the oldest family-run stained glass company in the United States.
Seating is created from a combination of built-in red banquettes and low curved armchairs hugging circular wooden tables, while a light-filtering silk-draped geometric chandelier hangs overhead.
In one corner, a raised and low black shelf supports two squat table lamps that look like oversized green olives.
Wierstler decorated the clay plaster walls with a mishmash of vintage and contemporary textural artwork, finished in porcelain and sand. Various local artists participated.
Defined by „saturated hues and dramatic lighting,” the cocktail lounge features a bar with pink Moroccan cement tiles and woven crimson rugs.
„It’s a place where you can completely lose track of time,” said the designer.
Known for his unique eclectic style, Wearstler has created interiors for various destinations that are part of the Perfect Hotel Group. The designer scoured antique stores to source the furniture that adorns the living room-style lobby of the Santa Monica branch, while the Austin location features a sculpted oak staircase that doubles as a pedestal for Wearstler’s own glazed earthenware pots and vases.
Images courtesy of Kelly Wearstler.