Designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard Heads to Dallas for Texas Design Week
L.A. Star to be Master of Ceremonies at PaperCity Design Awards
BY Lisa Collins Shaddock // 10.03.19At Chateau Gutsch in Lucerne, the Gütsch bar—or Ancestor Bar as Bullard prefers to call it—was hung in his Adras Ikat wallpaper for Schumacher, upon which he grouped antique oil paintings from the hotel’s original collection. The ceiling was gold-leafed to reflect the sparkling city lights at night while the windows that surround the bar look out to spectacular lake views.
After a sensational summer expedition that took him from Oklahoma to Madrid to Tangier to London to the South of France, Los Angeles designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, who is perennially on the Architectural Digest AD100 and Elle Decor A List, is back to business and travels to Dallas October 8-9 for Texas Design Week.
This isn’t Bullard’s first time at the rodeo. He occasionally comes to DFW to visit friends, shop showrooms in the Dallas Design District, and satisfy his secret love of barbecue. This time he’ll serve as master of ceremonies for the annual PaperCity Design Awards on Wednesday, October 9 at The Joule, as well as make an appearance for a talk and book signing at The Rug Company on Tuesday, October 8.
Bullard launched a collection for The Rug Company earlier this year, drawing inspiration from Palm Springs, where he owns a historic home and spends many weekends. “I’ve become very inspired by the mid-century architecture and a lot of the decorative details there, even the iconic fencing,” he says. “There’s an eccentric Palm Springs feel that translates really well to rugs.”
Bullard, who has two books and a dozen product lines, has a client list that includes Sir Elton John, Cher, Tommy Hilfiger, Eva Mendes, Patti LaBelle, Ed Norton, Kid Rock, and. . . Khloe, Kourtney and Kylie.
Most recent acquisition. I bought a Gabriella Crespi lamp that’s brass and bamboo while in London last week.
Last book you read. Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret. It’s the most amazing book about her life, which is quite scandalous in a way — growing up as a princess and becoming this wild child of the royal family.
Favorite hotel. Currently Villa Treville in Positano. It used to be Franco Zeffirelli’s home and was recently made into a beautiful boutique hotel.
In another life. If I wasn’t an interior decorator, I’d be a pop star.
Collecting. I collect photography. I have everything from the 1930s to works from last week. You can get amazing photography quite reasonably and formulate a strong collection from it.
Most treasured possession. My grandmother’s cross. It’s 18th-century silver inlaid with ebony, and I believe it was her mother’s before.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard will appear in Dallas for an illustrated talk and book signing at The Rug Company Tuesday, October 8, 4 to 6 pm, and as master of ceremonies at the PaperCity Design Awards Wednesday, October 9, at The Joule hotel. To purchase tickets to Texas Design Week Dallas and attend this event, go to texasdesignweek.com.