Step inside the Broadwick Soho Hotel in London and you\u2019re instantly transported into another world, one that\u2019s as fabulous and grandiose as it is comfortable and cozy. An eclectic m\u00e9lange of design inspirations ranging from the Jazz Age to English eccentricity and disco, the result is Studio 54 meets your grandmother\u2019s townhouse, and it\u2019s all courtesy of interior designer Martin Brudnizki.<\/p>\n
Brudnizki\u2019s more-is-more approach has captured the global imagination. Following a maxim of creating experiences, he\u2019s developed an instantly recognizable style that has transformed interiors into their own unique escapes, with an emphasis on private members\u2019 clubs, hotels, bars and restaurants, along with a select number of residences. Referred to as \u201cthe master of the grand fantasy\u201d by one of his clients, Brudnizki manages to achieve the rare design feat of balancing tradition and modernity for an effect that\u2019s at once both elevating and familiar.<\/p>\n
Layering colours, textures, patterns and styles always ties back to Brudnizki\u2019s grand idea for a particular space. In hospitality projects, whether the look is a guest\u2019s cup of tea or not is secondary to the emotional reaction it evokes. \u201cPeople are drawn to it even though it might not be their personal style because it\u2019s an event,\u201d Brudnizki says. \u201cYou\u2019re taken away for a couple of hours into a different universe to just have fun, which we need to do, especially today, I think.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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<\/div>\nAlthough closely associated with contemporary English design, Brudnizki was raised in Stockholm by his German mother and Polish father. He moved to London in 1990 to study interior architecture and design at the American University in London, followed by a stint as a model before he began working with artist-designer Philip Michael Wolfson. In 2000 Brudnizki struck out on his own to launch his namesake studio, Martin Brudnizki Design Studio; 25 years on, MBDS now has offices in London and New York City staffed by more than 100 architects, lighting designers, product designers and art consultants. His highprofile projects \u2014 like the Beekman Hotel in New York, Le Grand Mazarin in Paris, Splendido in Portofino and Soho Beach House Miami have earned him innumerable accolades, including being named to the Architectural Digest 100 this past December. \u201cYou need to believe in what you\u2019re doing. If you really believe it, eventually something will have to give,\u201d Brudnizki says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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When it comes to realizing that sense of the fantastic, perhaps the best example in Brudnizki\u2019s extensive portfolio is Annabel\u2019s, the storied private members\u2019 club on Berkeley Square, in London\u2019s West End. When the British business tycoon Richard Caring acquired the property in 2007, he turned to Brudnizki to usher Annabel\u2019s into its next incarnation while honouring its history as of one of the city\u2019s first nightclubs, which had hosted the who\u2019s who of 20th-century society, such as Frank Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Jack Nicholson and Diana, Princess of Wales.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Frequent creative collaborators, Caring and Brudnizki had previously partnered on high-profile dining projects like The Ivy and Sexy Fish, a swanky Mayfair seafood spot one reviewer described as \u201ca restaurant designed to knock your silk socks into next week.\u201d Annabel\u2019s pushes Caring\u2019s love of flora and fauna to lavish extremes \u2014 the all-pink-everything women\u2019s restroom, its ceiling lined with handmade silk flowers, and the subterranean nightclub, a partyready homage to Milton\u2019s \u201cParadise Lost\u201d that\u2019s lit by full-height palm trees made of brass and glass.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt always starts with the client,\u201d Brudnizki says of his approach to a new project, each with its own singular narrative. \u201cThe client is the inspiration because if we\u2019re doing a hospitality project or even if we\u2019re doing someone\u2019s home, it\u2019s really for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once they\u2019ve established what needs to be achieved through the space, the storytelling begins, he says. \u201cIs there a story with the building? Was it used for a special use, a hundred years ago, that can be woven into the story? Next, we look at the street outside, the neighbourhood, the town or the city, and then the country. From this, you can get a lot of information and begin to weave this narrative and create something fantastical.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Torontonians don\u2019t have far to travel to enter the Brudnizki universe. Caf\u00e9 Boulud, chef Daniel Boulud\u2019s French restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel, was given the MBDS treatment in 2015. Ten years in, its warm, smart ambiance is as delightful as ever, thanks in no small part to Brudnizki\u2019s overall rejection of design trends. \u201cI don\u2019t really follow trends because it\u2019s the story that\u2019s important. Our projects can take up to 10 years to fulfill, so if you [go after a trend], it\u2019s going to be out of fashion. I always want to create something that is a classic that\u2019s going to stand the test of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brudnizki was also behind Drake One Fifty, in Toronto\u2019s Financial District \u2014 dining-focused outpost of Jeff Stober\u2019s game-changing Drake Hotel on West Queen West. A reimagining of dining out for the Bay Street crowd, Drake One Fifty was a major downtown draw from 2013 to 2022. Through a collaboration with The Drake\u2019s in-house design team, it combined Brudnizki\u2019s signature colourful, sumptuous style with hip made-in-Toronto touches, including a Brothers Dressler-designed wood pergola and a mural and hand-drawn art by Rajni Perera at the Drake Minibar.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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That attention to detail is critical in any MBDS project, whether it\u2019s through a lampshade that\u2019s as charming inside and out or through playful embellishment. \u201cWhat I do think is important is achieving that sense of balance,\u201d Brudnizki says. To that end, in 2015 Brudnizki launched And Objects, a collection of furniture and home d\u00e9cor intended to balance functionality with beauty. With a retail shop at Newson\u2019s Yard, a design hub in central London, And Objects creates an opportunity for admirers of the MBDS style to bring a piece or two of that flair into their homes.<\/p>\n
As his studio celebrates the milestone of its 25th birthday this year, Brudnizki seems ready to relax. With six hotels completed in the last 18 months, he\u2019s fine with having a quiet year ahead. \u201cI believe that more is not less,\u201d Brudnizki says. \u201cBe brave, make a big move. I think that\u2019s just so important because you feel joy, you feel happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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