location: Ritz Tower, Park Avenue, New York | interior design: Geoffrey Bradfield | images: Sargent Photography
Geoffrey Bradfield was born in East London, South Africa and began his interior decoration / design career in Johannesburg with iconic pioneers of the late ‘70s, such as Rae Hoffenberg, Selwyn Levy and Brian White. He moved to the United Sates in 1977 and over the past four decades has progressed to become widely regarded as one of the top ten interior designers in the world. He has been Habitat’s US correspondent for more than three decades.
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- Entrance is into a corridor lined along one side with mirrors culminating at a built-in bar, along the other veneer panelled wall hangs a Marie Laurencin portrait of an effete young cellist. | 2016 © Nickolas Sargent Photography
His much admired style requires high quality across the board: fine antiques, original artworks of various periods, custom-made furniture, high echelon fabrics, fixtures / fittings and materials. But there is more: Bradfield enjoys whimsy and very often includes quirky accessories and signature touches within his multi-million dollar projects.
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- Objects and artworks include: ‘Oiseau Bleu’ sculpture by François-Xavier Lalanne; a puppy vase and small blue ‘Balloon Dog’ sculpture by Jeff Koons; a bronze monkey by Giulia Mangani on the Poillerat-inspired console; one of Manolo Valdes’s ‘Mariposa’ sculptures depicting the head of a woman engulfed in a kaleidoscope of fluttering butterflies; and a ceramic egg by Fabergé.
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- Objects and artworks include: ‘Oiseau Bleu’ sculpture by François-Xavier Lalanne; a puppy vase and small blue ‘Balloon Dog’ sculpture by Jeff Koons; a bronze monkey by Giulia Mangani on the Poillerat-inspired console; one of Manolo Valdes’s ‘Mariposa’ sculptures depicting the head of a woman engulfed in a kaleidoscope of fluttering butterflies; and a ceramic egg by Fabergé.
He has created a number of personal homes, most of which have been in Manhattan. This is the latest, and he explains the rationale behind its conception: ‘The symbolic dimensions of turning 70 hardly escaped me. In fact, preparations for this important phase had begun the year before through a process of divestiture and editing that saw the sale of White Hall, my townhouse on East 61st Street, in addition to a Park Avenue flat and a Palm Beach residence. The major part of my art collections acquired over decades also became acquainted with the auction gavel.
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- A panelled wall conceals a small kitchen and powder room
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- A panelled wall conceals a small kitchen and powder room
‘This simplification of my life has been tremendously therapeutic. In a sense, it is like turning back a clock, allowing a return to a less encumbered autonomy. Running various houses as a bachelor can often feel all-consuming. I loved everything about it for most of my life, but the demands of playing host to endless guests no longer appealed. I wanted for an instant to find myself free of all burdens, with nothing but space and time. I yearned to feel there was nothing scheduled. It’s a primal pilgrimage in a way, like going into the bush, simply to be one with nature and returning spiritually reborn. Primal, yes, but also a kind of poetic act.’
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- The suite’s private quarters continue the monochromatic, silvery grey palette and the cosmopolitan narrative established in the drawing room with a Louis-style bed flanked by acrylic consoles.
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- On the desk is a Chris Antemann’s provocative riff on Meissen figurines.
For the full article see Habitat #263 January / February 2018
