DE S IGN CENTRE
building and the location. From that, we find a narrative which is usually something from the past, which then we modernise so it’s relevant to today.” At the Splendido in Portofino he has created the comforting feeling of being in a friend’s art-filled holiday home. At The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City, he has conjured a fictional flaneur inspired by the building’s former owner, the Gilded Age socialite, Charlotte Goodridge. And at London’s Broadwick Soho he has combined the loucheness of the area with the owner Noel Hayden’s background to weave a story where, as he puts it, “Studio 54 meets your granny’s Soho townhouse.” Step inside, and you are greeted by walls topped
with a frieze by Iksel Decorative Arts that is adorned with images of birds of paradise and fruit baskets symbolising notions of freedom, abundance and temptation. Wander down to the basement restaurant, Dear Jackie (the name is a reference to the love letters Hayden’s
father wrote to his wife), and discover a
seductive salon where red silk curtains and matching walls provide a decadent backdrop for Murano lighting, leather and floral banquettes by Moore & Giles at Altfield and a collection of 180 plates by the artist Michaela Gall depicting Soho scenes. Or, if you fancy immersing yourself in 1970s disco glamour,
head up to the rooftop dining bar, Flute, and kick back on one of the sofas wrapped in Pierre Frey's vibrant ‘Budapest’ herringbone cut velvet beneath the mirrored mosaic ceiling. As you explore this extraordinary, storied space, take
time to look at the artworks. Curated by Brudnizki’s partner, art consultant Jonathan Brook, the collection ranges from works by 20th-century giants including Francis Bacon, Bridget Riley and Andy Warhol to
“ALL OUR PROJECTS ARE A DANCE AROUND HOW MUCH WE LAYER”
pieces by emerging names such as Faye Wei Wei and Casey Moore, adding to the impression that this is a private home ‘granny’ has embellished over decades. Brudnizki works around the world (next stop Tokyo),
but London has a special place in his heart and his UK studio is based at the Design Centre. “London brings together so many cultures and histories and each corner has an identity, so there is a great sense of creative freedom and diversity here,” he says.
“Moving the studio to the Design Centre was the best
thing we ever did because we have all these showrooms on the doorstep. You can have a meeting with a client and go and get samples immediately. The studio love events like London Design Week and WOW!house,” he adds. “Engaging the whole design community is what the Design Centre does so well.” Preserving his own creative freedom as the business has
grown over the past 25 years (he now employs more than 100 people) has been vital. “The framework of MBDS means it is now a machine that works,” he says “and that gives me the time to do what I do best.” Importantly, it also gives him time to tend to the five miles of herbaceous borders that line the garden of the apartment (part of a large 17th-century house that once belonged to Anthony Eden) he shares with Brook in West Sussex. So, what do the next 25 years bring? Brudnizki says
he has “no idea” but his passion for creating social spaces that lift the spirits is undimmed. “Life is tough so at the end of the day, it’s all about bringing some joy and beauty,” he says. And with that, he gets up and disappears through the French windows into his garden where the daffodils are coming into flower. Their yellow heads are an echo of the colour on the walls of his exuberantly layered drawing room.
ABOVE: The Surrey in New York’s Upper East Side, presents a different side to Brudnizki’s work, with walls wrapped in seagrass from Phillip Jeffries OPPOSITE, TOP: Birds and fruit baskets adorn a frieze by Iksel Decorative Arts in the lobby of the Broadwick Soho hotel OPPOSITE, BOTTOM: Flute, Broadwick Soho’s rooftop dining bar, glows under a mirrored ceiling, while fabric from Watts 1874 and Pierre Frey (with the latter’s ‘Budapest’ velvet shown on the sofa) add to the opulence
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© courtesy of The Surrey/Corinthia
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