It comes as no surprise that Martyn Lawrence Bullard’s weekend house in Palm Springs is rich in glamorous pedigree. The sleek midcentury-meets-Hollywood, regency party-ready desert palace counts among its previous owners Roger Moore, Hugh Hefner, and an Australian art collector who favored Modiglianis and Francis Bacons. Before Bullard bought the home—which he’s dubbed Villa Grigio—its beautiful terrazzo floors were covered in brown shag carpet and there was a disco ball hanging from the patio roof, a feature well-used by the party-loving owners.
Thomas J. Story
To breathe new life into the house, Bullard took the gauntlet thrown by all previous high-wattage owners and created a light-filled fantasia loaded with pattern and color: Keith Harings, Damien Hirsts, zebra-skin rugs from Andy Warhol’s factory, a hot pink sunken wraparound sofa. The guest rooms are vivid tropicália havens; the pool and its gardens, designed by Thomas Diehl of The Living Canvas, are a collection of breezy patios dotted with potted succulents and agaves, shaded seating areas, and a sparkling pool surrounded by espaliered lemon trees—perfect for garnishing cocktails come the holidays.
Thomas J. Story
“On Christmas Day, I host dinner for all the waifs and strays at my house in L.A.,” Bullard says. “It’s usually my friends Julia Sorkin, RuPaul, and Melanie Griffith, or a bunch of Brits I know that don’t have anybody here. It always ends up being a mélange of fun people.”
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But after that, Bullard heads to the desert for that wonderful week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. “It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year, not only because of the beautiful desert weather but because it gets cold at night, and I get to light fires, too. There’s something about being in the desert at that time of year which makes up for not being in England with the snow.” Bullard will throw a couple of fancy dinners: One, a big Indian takeout dinner, and then on New Year’s Eve, he’ll host a fancy catered dinner with prime rib and a caviar bar.
Thomas J. Story
Villa Grigio is the perfect backdrop for these desert festivities that can veer into the appropriately theatrical. The house was designed by James McNaughton, an architect who began his career as a set designer at MGM’s art department and later for a major television network, where he became known for his dramatic, highly stylized sets.
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His talent caught the eye of Zsa Zsa Gabor, who starred in a film for which McNaughton had designed the sets. Gabor had him build a house for her in the desert, word spread quickly, and McNaughton became the go-to architect for Hollywood’s elite. Among his commissions were the Kramers, a wealthy East Coast couple who’d made their fortune in canned goods and aspired to a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. They initially had McNaughton build them a house but soon deemed it too small and had him build an almost identical, larger version, which is now owned by Bullard.
Thomas J. Story
While the shag carpet is gone, Bullard has made a couple of design choices that nod to the home’s past: The screening room is carpeted in a tasteful gray, albeit shag, carpet, and he’ll still hang a disco ball out by the pool to help his guests ring in the New Year.
