Meet Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Designer To The Stars

Filed under: Famous Homes, Design, etc, House Tours, Celebrity Homes

What do Cher, Kid Rock and Cheryl Tieg have in common? They all hired Martyn Lawrence Bullard to design their homes. Here, the designer gives us a peek into some of his most cherished spaces.

When I spoke to Martyn Lawrence Bullard last week, he was in a decidedly chipper mood. The interior designer had just gotten word that his work was being featured in the latest issue of Departures magazine. This coming just a week after being selected for the Andrew Martin award, one of the interior design world's most-coveted prizes. (Not to mention, back in January, Architectural Digest called him one of the top interior designers in the world.) However, I suspect that this designer, who peppers his clipped British speech with enthusiasms ("gorgeous!" "sexy!") and intimacies ("my darling"), is pretty cheerful all the time.


Los Angeles-based Bullard originally hails from the U.K., making the honor of a British Andrew Martin award that much sweeter. If you aren't familiar with Lawrence Bullard's work, perhaps you will recognize his clients. The humble list includes Cher, Sir Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Eva Mendes, Ellen Pompeo, Kid Rock and the Osbournes, among others. To mark his winning of the Andrew Martin award, ShelterPop caught up with Mr. Lawrence Bullard. With all of these honors accumulating under his belt, we had to wonder what some of his favorite projects have been. We asked, he shared. Here's a peek into Lawrence Bullard's star-studded world.

This serene bedroom (above left) belongs to none other than Cher herself. "It had been very Gothic before," said Lawrence Bullard. "Cher wanted to create something more Moroccan-Indonesian in feeling, with that magical Moorish flair." The early 20th-century Syrian headboard -- inlaid with mother of pearl and bone -- set the tone for the room. It pairs beautifully with the Moroccan lanterns Lawrence Bullard placed on the bedside tables. The walls are covered in hand-stenciled, tea stained silk -- a subtle luxury.

Cheryl Tieg's home was the project that put Lawrence Bullard on the map 14 years ago when it graced six magazine covers around the world. Since then, he has worked with Tieg to redesign various rooms in the house, letting them evolve over time. The image (above right) is her living room in its latest incarnation. "I love that house," says Lawrence Bullard. "I love that she's grown with it, and I've grown with it. The initial interior design has remained basically timeless, but we've added new color and new shapes. It's a beautiful stamp of our friendship."

A recent project that Lawrence Bullard is clearly fond of is actress Ellen Pompeo's family home. The Hollywood Hills home originally belonged to Ronald Regan in the 1930s. "It has a fantastic, fantastic vibe to it," the designer says. "It's very Mediterranean." Pompeo and her husband are very easy going and young, he says, so when it came to the design, "It had to feel young, fresh, sexy." The boho-chic bedroom (above right) with a 1920s Egyptian hanging and earth-friendly bed linens certainly exudes the sexy vibe he hoped for.

The living room (above left) demonstrates the designer's attention to a home's architecture, something that is always a consideration in his designs. "It's not so much what I did with it," he says. It's what he didn't do with it. Lawrence Bullard allowed it to speak for itself. "I wanted to let the architecture sing," he says. The furnishings are a well-balanced mix of modern and antique pieces to keep things fresh and interesting.

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that this over-the-top apartment belongs to Sir Elton John and David Furnish. For this project, Lawrence Bullard drew on the building's 1969 architecture, the couple's extensive art collection and Elton John's rock-and-roll sensibilities. In the living room (at left), a backdrop of lacquered green walls shows off multiple pieces of 70s artwork, including the Wan Guangyi painting above. Because Elton John rarely spends time in the apartment, Lawrence Bullard says he was free to make it "great fun, with mad color and wild, wild flavors."

The Guido Mocafico snake photos in the bedroom (at right) relate to the bed, which is covered in python skin. The mirrored-metal cabinet and the mink blanket on the bed are disco-luxurious touches.



At first glance you might think this natural, subdued kitchen belonged to a down-to-earth star like Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts, but it's actually the Malibu home of Kid Rock. "He has great style," says Lawrence Bullard of the singer. "[The house] is like a sanctuary for him. He actually recorded his last album in that house." With its Zen vibe and Balinese influences, it's no wonder Kid Rock gets creative in this home.




While most of Lawrence Bullard's picks for favorite rooms belong to his celebrity clients, one of his pet projects is the dining room in his own home. The house has a storied past, having been inhabited by both William Faulkner and Gloria Swanson. Says Lawrence Bullard, "I wanted to honor the history of the house and feed back into its historic roots." In this eclectic room, Bullard incorporated the chandelier, which dates to when Swanson inhabited the house, a set of 18th-century ebony and ivory inlaid chairs, a vegetable-dyed Moroccan rug and curtains made from his own fabric collection. The ceiling is stenciled with a pattern taken from a piece of antique damask that he found in Venice.

Lawrence Bullard designed a London townhouse for Tamara Mellon, founder and president of Jimmy Choo. The predominant feature in the master bedroom is the spectacular headboard, which Mellon and Lawrence Bullard bought together in the Grand Bazaar on a trip to Istanbul. The cloth is a deep, deep purple with gold thread stitched into a motif of the tree of life. The rest of the room's textiles -- the bedding, bed skirt, pillow and drapes, -- are all custom-designed silk that complements the Ottoman Empire-era piece. Lawrence Bullard summoned the Jimmy Choo vibe with the 1940s cream lacquer bedside tables and some 1970s lamps picked up at the Portobello Road flea market in London.




How did Lawrence Bullard end up with a roster of clients that reads like the cast of a blockbuster movie? For one, he says, "I don't decorate for me, I decorate for my clients. You can see in the variety of work and the many different looks." He also seems to have a knack for creating beautifully and subtly dramatic spaces that are actually livable. "I want people to feel comfortable -- that they can sit on everything, every day." No doubt, his good looks and English charm also help him attract such a glamorous following.

Looking to the future, we asked who would be his dream client. He didn't hesitate. Lady Gaga, he says. He met the star through his friend and client Sir Elton John. "She is beyond the sweetest thing," gushes Lawrence Bullard. "And she is the most extraordinary and incredible talent. I love that she lives her life as an art form. Can you imagine doing her home? That would be a dream!"

Hear that Gaga? Martyn is ready to decorate, and we can attest the man knows a thing or two about drama, glamour and luxury -- you'd be in great hands.

 

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