proper beauty

Some places hold memory in their walls.

This lobby at the proper is one of those places for me. I’ve been coming here since my early twenties, back when I’d fly out for meetings with networks and studios at the start of the streaming era. There was a shift happening in culture then — new shows, more representation, the first signs that belonging might be possible on screen. I was looking for that off-screen too. Trying to find it in the rooms I walked into, in the life I was building.

The hotel became a kind of home base — I got to know the staff, the routines, the feeling of returning after long days of pitching and planning. But this photo was taken during a different season. I had taken a sabbatical, was back in LA for pleasure, not work. I was meeting up with old friends — artists, founders, the kinds of people who live creatively and generously. For the first time, I stayed here not because I had to be close to meetings, but because I wanted to return on my own terms.

Kelly Wearstler’s design has always captivated me — and that day, I finally had the space to take it in fully. Her interiors are bold, sculptural, and intentional. They remind me that good design is about more than aesthetics. It’s about attention. How people move, sit, gather, unwind. The best interiors don’t just look good — they make you feel something. They invite presence.

I’ve walked through this lobby as many different versions of myself. The 20-something figuring it out. The executive moving fast. The woman on pause, making room for joy. And now, someone who can look back and see all of those selves with grace.

-L