Martin Brudnizki, the face behind almost every five-star hotel interior, on his consuming passions

ABBA, IKEA and Martin Brudnizki. Sweden has given this country many great cultural staples. Martin’s internationally acclaimed business, Martin Brudnizki Design Studio (MBDS), is 25 years old this year and has worked on Broadwick, the luxury hotel in Soho, the Vesper Bar at The Dorchester and Annabel’s in London — that’s right, the one with a unicorn with golden hooves standing guard in the stairwell and 500kg onyx crocodiles for bathroom sinks. That was Martin.

He was also responsible for the placing of a Frank Gehry crocodile statue in London’s Sexy Fish restaurant. I am sensing a theme here. Outside of the UK, MBDS has worked on Soho Beach House in Miami, The Beekman in New York and Nubeluz at the Ritz Carlton. He’s not the face of high-end hospitality, but he’s designed the backdrop to pretty much all of it.

His work, whilst universally in demand, divides the critics. The Times once described him as having ‘a sort of multihued, Sir John Soane-on-acid vibe which, some might sniff, is a bit too ostentatious to be considered “English”’. However, Wallpaper* magazine has called him ‘one of the best restaurant and hotel designers of his generation’ and he has been praised numerous times in Architectural Digest and beyond.

Born in Stockholm in 1966 to a German mother and Polish father, Martin studied business for a brief spell, worked for a time as a model in the Big Apple, and then headed to the American University in London at the age of 23 to study interior architecture and design in 1990. He went on to work for the architect Philip Michael Wolfson, the renowned galleryist David Gill, and David Collins, once London’s most famous designer. He set up MBDS in 2000, before opening a New York studio in 2012 and a furniture and accessories shop, And Objects, in 2015.

He now employs more than 100 people, and has designed the interiors of more restaurants, bars, hotels and private members' clubs than you could shake an artistically chosen stick at. ‘Our focus on detail isn’t just an obsession,’ Martin has said, ‘it’s our trademark.’

Is this what he thought he’d end up doing when he was young? ‘Oh no,’ Martin says. ‘I had no idea, but my mother is very creative, and she worked as a visual merchandiser in a fashion store in Stockholm, and later on retrained in interior design,’ he adds, clarifying his main creative inspiration. ‘All of that was quite important, and it taught me a lot, for example: to have respect for your environment. You know, even on a Wednesday, you set the table properly for dinner, and all of those things. Enjoy life, enjoy it, but don't be sloppy — basically, that was the lesson.’

Until the pandemic, he lived between the UK and New York, travelling once a month to America, but now he is UK based. Having sold his flat in London earlier this year, he lives in West Sussex in Binderton House full-time with his partner Jonathan Brook, an art advisor who also works with MBDS. ‘He's great with creating the stories and the narratives of our projects,’ Martin says. He has previously described Binderton House as ‘an Arcadian fantasy of English country life’.

His book, My Life in Colors, will be published later this year. ‘Several people have asked me to do a book over the years, but I never thought I was ready, until now,’ he says. ‘The common denominator of my work is colour, and it’s become a very interesting lens through which to look at my projects. I really wanted to call it “The Language of Dreams”, because that’s what colour is to me — that’s what I do. I like to dream up ideas and stories.’ Martin’s dreams, it’s clear, are many, but what about his consuming passions?

Your aesthetic hero

Probably my mother, because she’s taught me everything that I know — the whole approach to life — because design is beyond being a beautiful finished space with art hung and furniture and accessories. It's beyond that. It's how you live that sort of life.

A book you've found inspiring

A couple, but definitely A Curious Friendship by Anna Thomasson. It's about Rex Whistler and his good friend, Edith Olivier, and it's just a beautiful story. I always knew the story of them, but it puts a bit more meat on the bones. It's about the relationship of a middle-aged woman and young man during the 1920s and 30s, up until the Second World War. It’s a very sad story, but there is a lot of joy in it, too. Sean Hewitt’s novels are also great, as is Colm Tóibín’s The Magician, which is about the author Thomas Mann.

What music do you work to?

I never work to music, but I like to relax to music, especially classical. Or, if I am having a few drinks on a Friday night, I might do a playlist of Ivor Novello and some Bossa Nova, and a bit of Noël Coward thrown in for good measure.

Your favourite painting

I have this piece by the Italian painter, Giorgio Di Chirico, and it's a lithograph in its original frame from the 1940s. It’s called Horses on the Shore, and it has the most beautiful scalloped oak frame — it's a beautiful piece of work.

Which possession would you never sell?

My father fled from Poland in the 50s, and he took with him the family heirlooms, which are quite worthless to have, in value, but I would never sell them — because they’re a memory of him.

An exhibition that has really impressed you

‘Rex Whistler’ at The Salisbury Museum. I loved that exhibition; it was on last year. ‘Glyn Philpot’ at the Pallant House Museum in Chichester also stood out. Simon Martin, who’s the curator and director there, spent years finding these paintings in different places, and I even helped him with a few. This exhibition was of all of these paintings that had never been seen together before, and it was beautiful to see. And the ‘Rex Whistler’ exhibition was extraordinary, because he died during the Second World War, so his life was cut short, but he still created such an amazing body of work.

What would you take to a desert island?

A book and a cushion, to rest my head on.

The best present you've ever received

My watch, which is a Breguet, is my favourite. The love of my life — my boyfriend — bought it for me. It’s a very classical watch with a gold frame and beautiful detailing. It’s a simple watch, but I love it so much. It was my 50th birthday present.

A hotel you could go back and back to

The Hotel Endsleigh in Devon, it’s owned by Olga Polizzi, and I love that hotel — we go back to it all the time. Especially as we go to Devon a lot, we have friends down there and go once or twice a year.

The last podcast you listened to

Either The Rest is History, or a new one called Voice from the Hall, which is hosted by the architectural historian Oliver Gerrish.

The last thing of note you bought yourself

I actually just bought a sculpture by John Skelton, it’s a torso made of wood and it’s very abstract and very beautiful. He did things in West Dean, which is just around the corner from where I am, and he did things as well in Chichester Cathedral, so we sort of felt that was very apt.

What gets you up in the morning?

My dog Zenon, he’s a whippet and the joy of our lives. He gets up because he wants a dental stick in the morning, it’s sort of his habit. So I do that, let him out, then he comes in and goes back to bed and stays there until about 11am.

Who would play you in a film about your life?

Oh, gosh, my life isn't interesting enough for anyone to play me. I'm afraid I wouldn't know, but it would probably have to be some tall (Martin is 6 foot 3 inches), blonde Swedish actor. People can come to their own conclusions about who that would be.

Do you collect anything?

I collect everything and nothing. Just things that I like really. It doesn't have to be something of great value either, just something that I like. I don’t have an urge to collect one specific thing.

Your most memorable meal

A restaurant that I absolutely love is one on Hydra, which is an island about an hour and a half from Athens in Greece. It’s called Xeri Elia, and it’s an amazing restaurant — the food is delicious. It’s family owned and they've worked there forever, and the food is just simple Greek fare. It was actually a favourite of Leonard Cohen in the 60s. Normally we order a whole fish, which is put on the table, a jug of white wine, a Greek salad and feta grilled with honey.

My Life in Colors: By Martin Brudnizki is out now.