Refined, luxurious, exquisitely curated, fearless, bespoke and completely of the moment. These are the essential elements of Geoffrey Bradfield’s signature style, sought after by Fortune 500 clients and others for whom the firm long ago coined the phrase “silent celebrities,” which include some of the most prominent aristocratic and royal families in the world. Among Bradfield’s many highly celebrated projects are: a major overhaul of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s Westbury, Long Island estate, restoration of the late King Hussein’s mansion in Maryland, the design of Hollywood director Oliver Stone’s riverside New York apartment, and a reconceptualization of the 200-room Equinox Resort in Vermont, a redesign so far-reaching and transformative that Starwood Hotels, Equinox’s parent company, elevated the property to its Luxury Collection.
Bradfield is currently at work on monumental residences around the globe, including Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Jakarta, Dubai and Jerusalem. He brings his unique point of view—which combines the finest art and antiques and a quintessentially contemporary sensibility with state-of-the-art technology and rare, lavish materials from every hemisphere—to palatial residences, private jets and yachts, and to singular office environments from Mexico to Moscow, Canada to the Caribbean and America to Asia.
This impressive body of work has garnered Bradfield countless accolades. He has been named among the world’s top designers by Architectural Digest and appeared innumerable times on the AD100 list. The Robb Report recognized him as one of the Top Ten Designers in World. Architectural Digest also anointed Bradfield a “Dean of American Design.” He was included in the Millennium Issue of the book America’s Elite 1000—the Ultimate List. Among the many honors bestowed upon Bradfield have been the American Cancer Society Man of Achievement Award (2012), the Hyland Award for Design Excellence (2012) and New York School of Interior Design’s Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award (2013). Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in his capacity as chairman of South Africa’s Phelophepa Healthcare Train, presented the South African-born designer an Award for Excellence in 2007 “in recognition of his sterling success globally and his contributions to his country of birth.”
Bradfield’s work has been prolifically published. In addition to the magazines mentioned above, his projects have appeared domestically in The New York Times, Elle Décor, Veranda, Interior Design, Esquire, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home and many others. International publications include: Habitat - South Africa; Yue - China/New York; Home Decoration - China; Dom & Interior - Russia; InsideOut - Dubai; Al Manzal - Saudi Arabia; Home Concepts - Singapore; Casa & Jardim - Portugal; Casas & Genti - Spain; Home & Apartment Trends - Southeast Asia; Tatler - Hong Kong; Tatler - Shanghai & Beijing, China; and Point de Vue - France. His television appearances include a profile on CNBC’s “High Net Worth,” CNN’s “Style with Elsa Klensch,” ICS "City Beat" and a one-hour special on his firm broadcast on HGTV. He has made frequent appearances on the latter network’s various programs, including “Top Ten Design.”
Raised in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, and with an established early career in Johannesburg, Bradfield moved to the New York in the 1970s. After working for the eminent interiors firm McMillen Inc., he became partner to the late Jay Spectre, ultimately reorganizing the company under the Bradfield name. He co-authored Point of View: Design by Jay Spectre (1991). In 1993, Bradfield published Celebration: Christmas in New York. He has gone on to produce four additional books: Defining Millennium Modern (2004), Ex Arte (2009), A 21st Century Palace: Mexico City (2012), the first of a planned five-book series and Artistic License (2013), the first American dual language English-Chinese design book. Volume II of A 21st Century Palace, which focuses on a sumptuous penthouse residence in Jerusalem, is due for release in December 2014.
Bradfield has designed the Signature Collection, a line of textiles, wallcoverings and rugs, for the Stark Company. His Millennium Modern Collection of classically inspired contemporary acrylic furniture was the subject of a solo exhibition at Sebastian+Barquet Gallery in New York in 2009 and continues to sell internationally.
Geoffrey Bradfield Inc. is headquartered in New York, with satellite companies in Palm Beach, the Emirates and Qatar. Bradfield and his associate, vice president Roric Tobin, have partnered to form B & T Global LLC to focus on their international projects. They continue to crisscross the world at a breathless pace, propelling the extraordinarily respected Bradfield luxury brand onto the international stage.