Striking Balance

In-demand interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard creates the ultimate Malibu Colony surf house and social hub for entrepreneur and kid-at-heart Ed Freedman

A SURFBOARD RESTS AGAINST ED FREEDMAN’S ICON FJ44, WHICH HE CALLS “THE ULTIMATE MALIBU CAR. WE GO KITESURFING AND MOUNTAIN BIKING WITH IT.” PHIL STERN’S ICONIC JAMES DEAN PORTRAIT AND A 1950S WALL-MOUNTED LAMP ARE ABOVE THE FIREPLACE. MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD DESIGNED THE GREEN LEATHER AND WHITE OAK DAYBED, WHICH WAS LOOSELY INSPIRED BY JEAN PROUVÉ’S CLASSIC. “I LOVE HAVING A BED IN FRONT OF THE FIRE,” BULLARD SAYS. Opposite: THE BREATHTAKING VIEW OF THE PACIFIC FROM FREEDMAN’S HOME IN MALIBU COLONY.

Photography by Tessa Neustadt

Written by Jessica Ritz

The California dream is a vague concept for some. Not so for entrepreneur Ed Freedman, whose daily routine includes a regimen of surfing, swimming, biking and yoga. At the foundation of this life well lived is his idyllic headquarters: a Malibu Colony home designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard.

Freedman, who previously lived in Aspen and Miami and currently owns a second home in Maui, had a superlative vision for his digs, set on a prized oceanfront lot. “I wanted the ultimate beach house,” he says. Feeling “comfortable, and like a kid” in the space were top priorities. He knew he couldn’t do it without help, so he connected with celebrity interior designer Bullard.

Unbeknownst to Freedman, Bullard already knew the property well—he had transformed it for another client approximately 10 years prior. “It’s wild how a house has a history,” Bullard muses. This time around, the project was decidedly more playful.

“It had to be welcoming,” Freedman says, adding, “I wanted people to be like, ‘I’m going to Camp Eddie.’” Bullard’s response was to “make it kind of quirky, hence the mad-looking stools,” he explains, pointing to a trio of mismatched hand-carved wooden kitchen counter seating.

“When I drop the needle on the record and play pingpong with friends, I’m like a kid in my house.”

With this house, originally built in the 1970s for actor Michael Landon, “the lines are very clean and modern, but you want to give it some ‘relax appeal,’” says Bullard. Since he moved in one year ago, Freedman’s surfboards, wetsuits and bikes are a constant presence, as is his frisky chocolate Labrador, Bo.

“I believe modern luxury is comfort,” Bullard says. Freedman’s sofas are custom with deep seating and fitted with down-filled cushions. The tie-dyed rugs are from Afghanistan, and throws and pillows, mostly in various indigo hues, abound. Bullard also incorporated “as much boho as possible, to mix things up.”

The third-floor space is a California-specific update of a treasured childhood room: Freedman’s basement in Philadelphia. “When I drop the needle on the record and play pingpong with friends, I’m like a kid in my house,” he says. Call it the design version of a Proustian memory, lined in gorgeous white oak. “Martyn captured that essence, but he makes it cool and fun.” It also opens to a roof deck with a jawdropping ocean view.

BULLARD DESIGNED EXTRA-DEEP SOFAS TO ENCOURAGE LOUNGING AND RELAXATION. THE STEEP-ANGLED OAK AND WHITE UPHOLSTERED CHAIR IS ANOTHER VINTAGE FIND.

FURNISHINGS AND ACCESSORIES IN A RANGE OF INDIGO SHADES HELP SET THE LAID-BACK BEACHFRONT VIBE. LARGE- SCALE LeROY GRANNIS SURFING PHOTOS CONTRAST WITH BLACK STEEL-LINED WALLS AND BULLARD’S CUSTOM COFFEE TABLE. From top right: THE GUEST ROOM FEATURES BRAZILIAN CHAIRS, C. 1970, FROM FAT CHANCE IN L.A. AND A PRINT BY PHOTOGRAPHER RUVEN AFANADOR. BULLARD SELECTED IMAGES BY FORMENTO & FORMENTO FROM THE COUPLE’S JAPAN DIARIES SERIES FOR THE MASTER BEDROOM, AS WELL AS A PORTRAIT OF KATE MOSS BY MIKE FIGGIS. THE BED IS CUSTOM-MADE BY BULLARD IN HOLLY HUNT LEATHER. 1960S VINTAGE TERRA-COTTA LAMPS FROM LUCCA ANTIQUES IN L.A. THE BEDCOVER IS AN ARGENTINIAN EMBROIDERED WOOL COVERLET FROM HOLLYWOOD AT HOME. MOROCCAN BENI OURAIN RUG FROM WOVEN ACCENTS DATES FROM THE 1940S.

Bullard arranged the environment to complement other aspects of Freedman’s lifestyle, too. “When we put the Buddha in the pool area, it changed the whole vibe of the place,” Freedman says of the lava stone bust from Bali. He hosts what’s called Malibu Yoga Shala on Sunday mornings: an invite-only yoga class, followed by contemporary farm-to-table cuisine by Chef Oren Zroya, surfing and hanging out. The classes have been such a hit that he plans to open a Malibu Yoga Shala and Kamboocha Bar in the near future.

“We curate this perfect day,” he says. “I feel like I’m living in warmth and love. I live alone, but I don’t feel like I live alone.” •

A SUNDAY MORNING MALIBU YOGA SHALA SESSION. THE ROOF DECK ADJACENT TO THE REC ROOM, WITH ITS WARHOL SURFBOARDS AND TERRY-COVERED SEATING, IS IDEAL FOR CHECKING SURF CONDITIONS. CHEF OREN ZROYA PREPARES A POST-WORKOUT MEAL IN THE KITCHEN, WHERE A TRIO OF STOOLS FROM DAO MAKES A WHIMSICAL STATEMENT. FREEDMAN EMERGES FROM THE SURF WHILE BO AWAITS A CHANCE TO PLAY.