Martyn Lawrence-Bullard Lecture

Ellen Pompeo is Martyn's next door neighbor and he decorated her house.

One of the highlights of the Design Blogger’s Conference was the lecture given by the charming, witty and thoroughly entertaining Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.  Some of you may have followed him on “Million Dollar Decorators” which premiered on Bravo last fall.



Cheryl Tiegs' Balinese pavillion style house in the Hollywood Hills.

At age twelve Martyn started collecting and selling knickknacks at Greenwich Antique Market in South London to save money for drama school. He acquired things he found interesting and beautiful and learned about style, periods and origins through hands-on experience. Eighteen years ago he arrived in Hollywood to “be a star” and landed a small part but made ends meet by doing what he knew—buying and selling things.  When he was selected for another part he invited the producer and his fiancé to his rental house for dinner.  They were so impressed with the decor that he was asked to decorate the producer’s office. The head of Capitol Records saw Martyn’s work and commissioned Martyn to decorate the offices at Capitol.  He then assisted her in designing her wedding where he met Cheryl Tiegs.  Cheryl asked him to do her new house - a Balinese pavilion in Hollywood Hills - which resulted in six magazine covers.  The design world had discovered Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.  His understanding that “fashion people want to live their brand” and belief that “home is an extension of personality” make him highly sought after by international celebrities in film, music and fashion.  His work has been featured on over 100 magazine covers and his book, Martyn Lawrence-Bullard: Live, Love & Decorate, was #1 on Amazon for twelve weeks. 



Cheryl Tiegs' Living Room

Martyn has a keen interest in his heritage and loves to incorporate the eclectic and exotic influences of British colonialism in his work. He found the fabric for Tamara Mellon’s headboard at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.  He knew nothing about it except that he loved it and thought it would be very cool in the room.  When a guest saw it she said it was beautiful but an unusual use of a circumcision cloth!
 

Tamara Melon's Headboard

With his innate talent, engaging personality and uncanny ability to curate unusual objects from diverse sources it’s not surprising that Martyn has soared to the peak of the design profession.  He says that “Million Dollar Decorators” has been “a wild ride” and certainly “turned up the volume” on his career. And it’s “coming back on air very soon so beware!”