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Creative Minds

Martin Brudnizki

The bon vivant London designer cultivates a number of spirited new restaurant spaces in New York City

By Jacqueline Terrebonne
Person in a red and white striped shirt poses in front of framed artwork on a wall.
Martin Brudnizki. Photo: Courtesy of Oli Kearon

For Martin Brudnizki, life is a party. Or at least, the deeply evocative, wildly imaginative interiors he devises are the perfect setting for one. His namesake design studio is renowned for its infinite creativity when it comes to conjuring places to see and be seen like Annabel’s in London and Le Chardenoux in Paris.

Inspiration: “It comes from a sense of frivolous knowledge and an interest in history and people. The inspiration for one new restaurant project was Cecil Beaton’s bedroom and a Victorian circus.”

Elegant restaurant interior with a decorative bar, high stools, and a colorful ceiling mural featuring greenery and flowers.
Le Chardenoux restaurant in Paris designed by Brudnizki. Courtesy of James McDonald

Personal tastes: “I’m doing up a place for myself in the country, and it’s very grand. But it’s also very playful and colorful. I have to have layers of art, objects, and beautiful materials. For me to sit in that is calming. A white box I can’t do—I want to be enriched.”

Recommended: Martin Brudnizki Envisions a Bohemian Loggia Inspired by Cy Twombly

Up next: Brudnizki is designing Amos on Bleecker, his fantasy of a West Village restaurant, and chef Andrew Carmellini’s restaurants at the South Street Seaport and at the Fifth, a new hotel. 

Eclectic restaurant interior with ornate mirror, framed art on mustard walls, and a set dining table by blue chairs.
Matteo at Annabel’s in Mayfair, London.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2020 Spring Issue under the headline Creative Minds. Subscribe to the magazine.