Interior designer to the Stars, Martyn Lawrence Bullard talks about his tile collaboration with Ann Sacks

Q: How did the collaboration come about?

A: The collaboration with Ann Sacks came about because, basically, I have a great love of tile and Ann Sacks is the best tile purveyor in the world. For me, it was really important to find the right partner and Ann Sacks, for me, was the only partner.

Q: What was your design brief?

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A: My design brief was really go for what you love, do things that you can’t find on the market and things that you feel are fresh and exciting. It’s taken me from coming up with the initial idea to the launch of the product, about a year, because we wanted to work with real artisans. So, for my concrete tiles we went to Morrocco and found traditional vendors. For my mirrored collection, we went and found an amazing guy who is a real artisan, out in the Mid-West of America. It takes a while to get the product perfect. 

Q: Where did your design inspiration come from?

A: My design inspiration for this collection really has come from my travels. Travel to me is the most important thing in my work. It’s where I pick up all my inspirations. And I’ve really brought that well-travelled eye into this collection, featuring elements from all the countries and cultures that I love, but in a way that we have made it modern. I have modernised the colour palettes, I’ve made them feel kind of fresh, even taking some of the traditional designs, like the Moroccan [tiles]. There’s lots of Moroccan tile on the market, but the colours that we did them in, allows people not to be so scared of them and to put them into a modern day house.

Q: What do you think are the upcoming trends for interiors?

A: I think the upcoming trends for interiors are definitely going to be more eclectic. People are going away from that very minimalistic look that we have seen for the past few years and people are embracing layering and a global market place. People are bringing things in from all corners of the world and mixing it together, which is creating these beautiful fresh interiors.