- Martyn Lawrence-Bullard
What does Kid Rock (aka Bob Ritchie) have in common with Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo? Or the Osbournes with queen of fashion Tamara Mellon, founder of Jimmy Choo? Or pop-icon Cher with legendary Sir Elton John? The answer: Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, an award-winning British interior designer based in Hollywood.
Named one of the world’s top 100
interior designers by
Architectural Digest,
Martyn Lawrence-Bullard’s work has appeared in more 700 publications worldwide. He has featured on Bravo’s
Million Dollar Decorator, and has earned a reputation as Hollywood’s
designer to the stars.
Martyn’s own
design book is titled
Live, Love & Decorate; serendipitously, our blog is called
Live, Love. Laugh, so we share some fundamental beliefs about life and design. Additionally,
Martyn has a range of scented candles and rugs and has collaborated with fabric house Schumacher on a designer fabrics collection, which is an exotic feast of colour, pattern and texture. A very impressive portfolio indeed!
Of all of
Martyn’s projects, my favourite would have to be the home of Kid Rock. It’s nothing like I would have expected, and yet there is so much of the ‘bad boy’ personality when you look deeper.
‘English Gentleman’ is a phrase I would use if I were asked to sum up
Martyn. He is well travelled and educated in architecture, history, arts and culture; and his knowledge is topped by an infectious, energetic, and cheerful personality. But his demeanour is what impressed me the most, especially the way he connected so effortlessly with people who approached him.
Speaking with
Martin, I asked about his signature style, which I would describe as global, luxurious, sophisticated, comfortable, bold and eclectic. He says, “I love so many styles and periods”, and he agrees with Oscar Wilde’s “all beautiful things belong to the same age”’ . . . so when I asked him what was the one thing that has influenced him above all else it came as no surprise when he said, “the Moroccan design style”.
- Martyn Lawrence-Bullard (Live, Love & Decorate book)
Can you guess whose bedroom this is? Of the stars: Cher, Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Eva Mendes, Ellen Pompeo, Kid Rock, Sharon and Ozzie Osbourne or Tamara Mellon?
- Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne’s home in the gated community of Hidden Hills, California. “Sharon rules the roost when it comes to décor”, says Martyn.
- The foyer features a pair of custom-made porter’s chairs with a 19th-century French table and a bronze hand sculpture by British artist Marc Quinn.
- The living room is painted in Antique White, and showcases Sharon’s Italian puppets and dolls. A Montauk tripod floor lamp by Ralph Lauren, reclaimed-brick fireplace surround and large vintage clock.
- 1880′s sliding barn doors to the kitchen.
- Dining room with directoire-style fireplace and 19th-century French chandelier.
- Stairway to Ozzy’s home studio, lined with his gold and platinum albums, features steps of reclaimed oak.
- Sharon’s office desk—it displays Ozzy’s 1994 Grammy and the 2002 Emmy their show, The Osbournes, won for an outstanding reality series.
- Noticed anything missing in all the rooms? Floor rugs; Martyn did not use any floor rugs as the Osbournes have 26 dogs, and none of them are toilet trained. Also Ozzy likes to paint in the living room.
Can you guess who designed their living room around the famous green Hermés Kelly handbag? (Cher, Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Eva Mendes, Ellen Pompeo, Kid Rock, Sharon and Ozzie Osbourne or Tamara Mellon?)
- Can you guess who designed their living room around the famous green Hermés Kelly handbag?
- Hermés created the bag in the 1930s, and originally named it “H”. However, in the 1950s the actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco and pictures of the star clutching her Hermés “H” were sent around the world, creating an enormous buzz. Naturally, Hermés renamed it “Kelly”. The bag was popular through the 1960s (at times there was a waiting list) and demand remains huge, with it carried by the likes of Victoria Beckham.
- Martyn’s design of the Los Angeles apartment of Elton John & David Furnish was inspired by the “Kelly” bag, with an additional groovy pop-art design influence.
- Elton gets his beauty sleep on a custom-made Python skin bed. “All beautiful things belong to the same age, if all pieces are beautiful they all work in beautifully”, says Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.
- Martyn’s design of the Los Angeles apartment of Elton John & David Furnish was inspired by the “Kelly” bag, with an additional groovy pop-art design influence. The smallest room in the apartment is the office, which is how Elton likes it. Elton sits in George Clooney’s chair for the movie Oceans 11, and hand-writes notes to people in preference to emailing.
- Coffee table which opens to a bar and silver mess chain curtains. Fur floor rugs, Paul Evans furniture, leather lounges, white-gold and monogrammed tiles mixed with marble, a platinum leaf ceiling, and a 1960’s knot-style chandelier sets the scene for Elton’s private photography collection and his art glass.
“I want my bedroom to feel like I am the first wife of the Maharaja!” Whose bedroom is this? (Cher, Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Eva Mendes, Ellen Pompeo, Kid Rock, Sharon and Ozzie Osbourne or Tamara Mellon?)
- ‘I want my bedroom feel like I am the first wife of the Maharaja!’ whose bedroom is this??
- “I am a Buddhist”, says Cher “who should always be in after-school detention”.
- Cher’s bed is made from imbedded mother of pearl, ivory and ebony. It was once owned by Natasha Rambova, the lesbian wife of Rudolph Valentino.
- Cher’s bed is made from imbedded mother of pearl, ivory and ebony. It was once owned by Natasha Rambova, the lesbian wife of Rudolph Valentino.
- “My houses,” she muses, “are passions.” They are also decorative barometers of the current state of her never-boring, ever-expanding consciousness.
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