BRIGETTE ROMANEK

b r i g e t t e R O M A N E K

From an accidental (or perhaps predestined) start in decorating, spurred on by a childhood fascination with interiors and an adventurous spirit, to a fullyfledged studio with a roster of A-list clients, the Californian designer has become one of the most important names – and creative forces – in contemporary design

TEXT PIET SMEDY PHOTOGRAPHS MICHAEL P. H. CLIFFORD HAIR AND MAKEUP JORDANN AGUON

ROMANEK DESIGN STUDIO FOUNDER BRIGETTE ROMANEK IN LOS ANGELES

THE LIVING ROOM NEEDED TO BE BOTH COOL AND CALM YET STATEMENTMAKING. BRIGETTE ACHIEVED THIS WITH ICONIC PIECES LIVING IN HARMONY

A VINTAGE CHAIR IN THE HALLWAY WITH LIGHTING DESIGNED BY APPARATUS STUDIO

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I think the thing many aspiring designers want to know is how do you get to making it in this industry?

It is true when I say I never knew it could be a job.You know, I am a woman from the south side of Chicago, and it was a very different environment.

You see, my grandmother worked in a factory where they made magazines. She would bring them home, and that was my introduction to interiors and knowing that people live in different ways.We also travelled a lot, my mom being a singer and a single parent, so I was always in a new environment.That was all happening in my makeup and shaping the chemistry of Brigette –the person and the designer.

I got married, and we moved to London while my husband was making a film.That was really important because, after we returned to LA, I wanted to be in a place that felt European in its composition – and that place would be an area called Hancock Park, where the homes all have this uniform brickwork quality.The house I loved there, everyone warned us against buying it, but I could see what it should be and should look like – so we took it, and I embarked on what was quite a quick redo.Without even really knowing it, I had transformed the space – so much so that friends began asking me to help with their spaces and word spread and I was sort of doing it in between raising my girls and, one day, I was driving down in Malibu and just thought, I can really do this and make a business out of it.And so, four years ago, I created Romanek Design Studio.

It has been organic and comes from a real love of what interiors can do for people.

You can really see that early influence here, in this house. It has this very airy, European nonchalance to it.

The couple who own the home live here with their two kids, so the house had to really function in a way where they could have their friends over, but the kids could run around and be comfortable.

I made up this phrase that I always keep in mind when I design, so I can have a throughline in what I am doing, and that is: liveable luxe.

The goal is to find that balance. Because it is not a museum, it is a home where people need to be able to kick back, but at the same time, it still needs a certain cachet.

I want to live with beautiful things, but they also have to function, you know, they cannot just be precious. I experienced this when I created a house many years ago when my husband and I were dating.We made this super-cool house, and every time someone came over and threw a jacket down I was, like, oh my God, the compositions off. It is just sort of crazy and, in the end, I did not enjoy the space. So, yes, I still want it to be beautiful, but I also want it to work. In this house, I thought, why can ’t we have beautiful things that are also usable.And that is something about great design – function and aesthetic finesse are not mutually exclusive.

In this way, I do not have any rules, like, you know, one must put this colour here or that shape there, and I think that really resonates with people.There is a common thread between my projects: it is a little to the left, a little unusual and always eclectic. But if you want to say ‘this is her stamp ’ or ‘this is what she does ’ , it is not really there.

I love what you said about having no rules because no one lives like that. No two homes – or homeowners – are the same.And also, when you are designing a room with these rules in mind, let’s be honest, no one is going to stick to them.

I really enjoy the client exchange and getting their input and their wants and needs because, you know, I am going to leave, and it does need to be their space.And there is nothing worse than an excessively precious house. Like you said, it is meant to be lived in. For me, when I come in from my day, when I close the door and get to exhale, that is everything.

How did this exchange go? Did the homeowners have a clear idea of what they wanted, or was it a process?

The guys were amazing, and we had multiple conversations around the feel and functionality of the home. Originally, there were these dark floors with cream walls, so there was a sense of heaviness about the house that lost so many beautiful details, such as the mouldings and herringbone floors. So we spoke about lightening it up and working with the building to create that sense of open airiness.

But at the same time, there is quite a personalised feeling to every room, where, sure, some are open and breezy, while others are moodier and feel more enveloping.

I think, for me, whether it is a communal or private space, I want the person living there to feel invigorated, relaxed, or whatever the mood is trying to achieve. Bottom line: I want them to feel better, I want them to feel elevated and enhanced, whether it be family, friends, colleagues, or whatever the case may be.

So, in this home, all of these spaces really had to speak to that because they are big entertainers but also a close family.And so we

carved out little pockets for conversation or for playing games or sitting with the kids.We used fabrics that speak to those functions – such as performance velvets and boucles – and we did them in these rich colours. It was really about textures, materials, colours, lighting.

With your recent collaboration with MGBWHome on a range of lights, it is safe to say you know exactly how important good lighting is.

Lighting lets you create spaces that make everyone look good, so it was about strategically placing light sources. But then in other spaces you need it to perform a dedicated function, like the bedroom for reading. So it was thinking about how every space would really work.

It is like one big, collective story, with different areas speaking to different feelings.

It is like creating a movie from start to finish.There are different scenes in the movie, but it is the same narrative running all the way through. I have seen the kids jumping on the sofas and loving it, and then I have seen, you know, some celebrities sitting in that same spot, and it functioned just as well. It is about all of that and making it all sing and work together.

Romanek Design Studio romanekdesignstudio.com

TOP DOWN LOW-PROFILE FURNITURE MAKES THE LIVING

ROOM AVAILABLE FOR THE FAMILY’S CHILDREN TO PLAY, WHILE STILL BEING BEAUTIFULLY INDIVIDUAL; A MUTED PALE LAVENDER-PINK PAINT AND UNIQUE STONE COME TOGETHER TO CREATE A TRANQUIL, TIMELESS KITCHEN

OPPOSITE PAGE

IN THE FAMILY ROOM, BRIGETTE INCORPORATED AN OVERSIZED ISAMU NOGUCHI LAMP WITH PIERRE PAULIN CHAIRS AND A MUSTARD SILK RUG, PUTTING HER ECLECTIC TWIST ON THIS HISTORIC HOME

‘There is a common THREAD between my projects: it is a LITTLE to the left, a little UNUSUAL and always ECLECTIC’

BRIGETTE ROMANEK

BRIGETTE CHOSE COLOURS THAT MOVE YOU TO FULL RELAXATION IN THE MASTER BEDROOM SEATING AREA, WHICH FEATURES A CHAIR BY PIERRE AUGUSTIN ROSE, LIGHTING BY APPARATUS STUDIO, AND A SOFA BY GARDE

THE BREAKFAST NOOK TABLE AND CHAIR ARE BY FAYE TOOGOOD, THE DINING LIGHT BY PAUL MATTER

IN THE MASTER BEDROOM, LIGHTING BY APPARATUS STUDIO AND A CUSTOMDESIGNED BED

‘ROSIE’ VASE, R2 149, KARE DESIGN RENAUD THIRY ‘BELT’ ROUND COCKTAIL TABLE, POR, ROCHE BOBOIS SPARK AND BELL ‘ARC’ WALL LIGHT, POR, H&M HOME

‘CHIC 2’ ART PRINT, FROM R295,

KNUS

‘KISUMU’ SERVER IN OILED OAK WITH SOLID BRASS TOP AND INTERNAL PANELS, R93 199, TONIC DESIGN

9-SEATER ‘SONGOLOLO’ SOFA, R590 065,

HALDANE MARTIN

‘LONDON’ LOUNGE CHAIR IN COCOA BROWN, R7 995, BLOCK & CHISEL