{"id":342793,"date":"2026-09-10T12:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T12:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/342793\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T12:48:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T12:48:13","slug":"designer-martin-brules-manhattan-home-has-no-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/342793\/","title":{"rendered":"Designer Martin Br\u00fbl\u00e9\u2019s Manhattan Home Has \u201cNo Rules\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated5 min read<\/p>\n

Since his earliest days as an interior designer, Martin Br\u00fbl\u00e9 has approached his New York apartment as a laboratory for experimentation. Located in a historic Art Deco building on the East Side, the residence has an idiosyncratic layout, with two small bedrooms and a large studio space that features 13-foot ceilings and a vast casement window. In his unconventional latest reimagining of the apartment, Br\u00fbl\u00e9 flipped the rooms on their head, placing his bed in the studio, right at the heart of it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s casual, personal, and bespoke to my needs and way of living,\u201d says the charismatic Canadian-born designer. \u201cI designed it like the ultimate hotel suite, a place with no rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AIke Edeani \/ Andy Warhol, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1975\/\u00a9 2026 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts\/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York<\/p>\n

Martin Br\u00fbl\u00e9 in what is now the bedroom of his New York apartment. He paired an Andy Warhol work with a Eug\u00e8ne Printz folding screen next to an Eyre de Lanux table. Lamp by Isamu Noguchi; stool by Pierre Legrain; lounge chair and low table by Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann.<\/p>\n

Br\u00fbl\u00e9 manages to fly a bit under the radar, but he is evermore ensconced as a trusted talent for in-the-know global tastemakers. Think fashion designer Matthieu Blazy, the artistic director for Chanel, with whom Br\u00fbl\u00e9 collaborated on scenography in the label\u2019s past two runway shows. Or Pieter Mulier, the former Azzedine Ala\u00efa creative director who tapped him to furnish the brand\u2019s boutiques in Miami and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

With the 10th anniversary of Martin Br\u00fbl\u00e9 Studio approaching next year, the designer heads a team of more than two dozen people in his offices in New York and Paris. A versatile creative talent, Br\u00fbl\u00e9 has cultivated a personal style rooted in a penchant for Art Deco glamour, \u201970s sensuality, and high-toned classicism, typically executed in serene palettes with elevated materials and sensuous textures.<\/p>\n

\"ModernIke Edeani \/ Courtesy Richard Prince Studio; Courtesy Chiki and Andrew Dubow<\/p>\n

Br\u00fbl\u00e9 designed the bedroom\u2019s daybed and mirrored side tables. A Richard Prince painting is set against a cashmere-clad wall. Plate by Pablo Picasso; vase by Hermann Seger.<\/p>\n

In his apartment\u2019s previous incarnation, Deco refinement prevailed, balanced with select minimalist modern furnishings, African sculpture, and a palette of warm, pale tones. This time around he has dramatically shifted not only the layout but the mood, opting for a duskier, sexier vibe. The creamy plaster walls remain, as do the expanses of mirror and some of the Art Deco furnishings, but Br\u00fbl\u00e9 has introduced edgier art and richer, bolder color.<\/p>\n

\u201cI designed it like the ultimate hotel suite, a place with no rules.\u201d\u2014Martin Br\u00fbl\u00e9<\/p>\n

On one side of the bed, a work from Andy Warhol\u2019s \u201cLadies and Gentlemen\u201d series hangs on a Eug\u00e8ne Printz black lacquer folding screen overlooking a glossy red Eyre de Lanux Parsons-style table that serves as a spot for dining, reading, and displaying objects. On the opposite side Br\u00fbl\u00e9 installed a daybed sofa he designed with a curved cherry-red backrest and set against a wall upholstered in inky cashmere.<\/p>\n

\"AIke Edeani<\/p>\n

African sculptures, including a Senufo bird (center), are joined by a klismos chair in a corner of the bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe apartment is very streamlined and utilitarian\u2014simple, with decadent materials,\u201d says the designer, who loves coming home from his constant travels and having the bed in the middle of the apartment. \u201cTo me it feels modernist and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story of how Br\u00fbl\u00e9 got to this point is a bit unconventional. He grew up in Montreal, and he says that in his family \u201centrepreneurship was always front and center, more than culture and aesthetics.\u201d He adds that his family included some \u201cextreme personalities.\u201d One of those personalities was his grandmother, who was always smartly dressed and kept things just so. The two were close. \u201cThe way she took care of things, objects, influenced me in a big way,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"ColorfulIke Edeani<\/p>\n

A Sterling Ruby artwork on the bedroom\u2019s mirrored wall overlooks a 1920s bronze sculpture and a 1930s Jean-Charles Moreux vase.<\/p>\n

And then there was the uncle who lived in Hong Kong and would visit the family with his beautiful wife, him dressed head to toe in Tom Ford and Armani, constantly smoking and very handsome. When Br\u00fbl\u00e9 was 13 or 14, the uncle and his wife moved back to Montreal, and Br\u00fbl\u00e9 often spent time at the couple\u2019s apartment, which the uncle decorated with a tasteful mix of Chinese antiques and Art Deco, channeling a retro-chic China Club look.<\/p>\n

Another influential personality from his childhood was his mother\u2019s best friend, a composer and writer with the accoutrements of a high-flying lifestyle, including a Bentley, a house in Palm Beach, and stays in fabulous places. The young Br\u00fbl\u00e9 was fascinated by the beautiful, cultivated people he met who might jet in from Monte Carlo for a party. But, as he acknowledges, what was missing for him at that time was true engagement with culture.<\/p>\n

\"AIke Edeani<\/p>\n

An Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann mirror hangs above the bed, flanked by bespoke side tables. Frette bedding; Charvet robe.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to Br\u00fbl\u00e9\u2019s early twenties, when he moved to New York to study fashion at Parsons. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit blurry, but I did a lot of things,\u201d he says. \u201cMy creativity came through, and my entrepreneurial spirit was always present.\u201d While in school he got fashion gigs, including assisting a great stylist, and he worked with antiques dealer and decorator Jean-Paul Beaujard, an important mentor. Br\u00fbl\u00e9 embraced the city with everything he had, going to museums and galleries, meeting new people, absorbing everything around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York is such an incredible place, and it unlocked things for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI lived in an apartment the size of a closet, and I was thrilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AIke Edeani \/ Courtesy Melle van Herwaarden and Andrew Dubow<\/p>\n

A painting by Melle van Herwaarden hangs next to custom shelves with vintage barware.<\/p>\n

But Br\u00fbl\u00e9 knew he wanted to expand beyond fashion, and he enjoyed creating environments. When he first moved into his current apartment\u2014with a roommate initially\u2014he began playing with colors, furniture, textures, finishes. In those early days he loved entertaining and having people over for dinner. One of those guests ended up asking him to take the creative lead on his apartment renovation, which already had an architect involved. Although Br\u00fbl\u00e9 didn\u2019t know it, that project would kickstart his design career.<\/p>\n

The architect ended up dropping out, and the friend offered Br\u00fbl\u00e9 the entire project, to be finished in six months. Without thinking twice, he said yes. Completely on his own, he stayed up until 3 a.m. every night to get things done. \u201cThis was the big launch,\u201d Br\u00fbl\u00e9 says. \u201cI never questioned whether I could do it. What it showed me is that I really loved doing interiors.\u201d Even though the project had no press, word of mouth spread, and new clients started to come.<\/p>\n

Step Inside Martin Br\u00fbl\u00e9\u2019s Apartment\"AOpen Gallery\"\"<\/p>\n

While Br\u00fbl\u00e9 didn\u2019t abandon his interest in doing larger restaurant, hotel, and retail projects, he discovered that he loves tailoring spaces for individual clients. \u201cI create spaces that are portraits of the people who live in them.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment, Br\u00fbl\u00e9\u2019s projects include a Park Avenue duplex, an Upper East Side art gallery, a large residence in Madrid, and the first hotel for a new brand in Milan. For him an ambitious project doesn\u2019t have to be big. \u201cIt\u2019s about the level of taste and vision. That\u2019s what excites me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When asked what success feels like, Br\u00fbl\u00e9 stops for a moment to consider the question. Then he replies, \u201cI don\u2019t really think about things like that. I honestly feel this is just the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in the September 2026 issue of ELLE Decor. SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"5 min read Since his earliest days as an interior designer, Martin Br\u00fbl\u00e9 has approached his New York…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[111910,1380,128533,569,83931,568,75,84,83,9,24,63,67524,128532,108292,50637],"class_list":["post-342793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-collection-elle-decor-premium","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-438e42a4-4441-4da1-be9d-e20731c03461","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-read_time-6","tag-shorttitle-martin-brules-manhattan-home-has-no-rules","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-house-tours"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}