We bring you the world’s best interior designers who’ve been making headlines thanks to their lust-worthy residential designs sure to give you some home décor inspiration.
Martyn Lawrence-Bullard
Background: Design allowed the 50-year-old British decorator’s dream of living in Los Angeles to come true. His desire to become an actor had brought him from London to LA, but it was his natural flair for decorating that kept him there, as he is entirely self-trained. He believes that one is either born with style or not, and his innate talent is supplemented by inspiration garnered from travelling the world. With an opera singer father who toured the globe with his family, he grew up in a theatrical household where he was exposed to different forms of esthetic expression, which would eventually be interpreted in his interiors. A design buff as a child, he was scouring the flea markets for antiques as early as the age of 12, which he later continued in LA in order just to stay there, while acting in bit parts here and there. As fate would have it, the producer of Ed Wood’s I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, in which he was performing, asked him to decorate the offices of Hollywood Film Works after having visited his colonial-style house adorned with objects from the local flea markets. He accepted thinking he could score another acting job out of it. The day it was completed, Liz Heller, the then executive vice-president of Capitol Records asked him to decorate the iconic Capitol Building. Through Heller, he met the supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, for whom he completed his first real design project. One star introduced him to the next, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The ancestor bar of Chateau Gutsch hotel overlooking Lake Lucerne that Martyn Lawrence-Bullard… [+]
Style: Defined by an eclectic approach, he seeks a common thread in color, form or beauty among pieces from different centuries, always working with his clients to create their dream interiors that will reflect their personalities. Although he sees, smells and touches something that will inspire him each day, travel is his primary source of inspiration, drawing from different countries’ cultures, colors and tastes, which become the threads with which he weaves his decorative tapestry.
The living room of the Sperber residence in Point Dume, Malibu, has grand proportions and a relaxed… [+]
Projects: Named one of the world’s top 100 interior designers by Architectural Digest, his client list reads like a who’s who of the Hollywood, music and fashion industries: Sigourney Weaver, Edward Norton, Eva Mendes, Cher, Sir Elton John, Kid Rock, Christina Aguilera, Tamara Mellon, Cheryl Tiegs and Rebecca Romijn. Although best known for his high-end residential projects, he has also designed the Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs, Jimmy Choo stores worldwide, Chateau Gütsch Hotel in Switzerland, The Raleigh Hotel in Miami, Hotel Californian in Santa Barbara and Four Seasons Residences in Los Angeles. He has an eponymous line of indoor and outdoor fabrics, wallpaper, candles and furniture, and regularly collaborates with leading home furnishings manufacturers.
Watsonia, Martyn Lawrence-Bullard’s own home in Hollywood, whose former inhabitants include Rudolph… [+]
Quote: “Modern luxury to me means comfort. It doesn’t mean how big your home is, how many rooms you have or how much money you spend on your interiors, furnishings and art. It’s all about how comfortable you make it. We all work so hard in lives, so our homes must be our sanctuaries: places to relax, rejuvenate and re-center ourselves. I hate rooms where the furnishings look stiff, where there’s nowhere to lounge or sit comfortably. For me, comfort is king and the number one rule in design.”
Check back next week for Part 2 showcasing a second interior designer making waves in the design world.
