Martin Brudnizki does not suffer from a lack of confidence. His career began when, while on a Christmas break from studying economics in school, a friend studying design showed him some drawings. “I just thought, Oh, I could do better than that,” Brudnizki tells host Dennis Scully on the latest episode of The Business of Home Podcast.

Indeed he could. Brudnizki, a truly cosmopolitan designer, grew up in Sweden as the child of Polish and German immigrants. After graduating from the American University of London with a degree in interior architecture and design, he launched his firm, which now operates there and in New York. It’s only fitting that his work takes him all over the globe to design some of the world’s finest hotels and restaurants, including Annabel’s in London, The Beekman in New York and Soho House in Miami. Though his aesthetic is difficult to pigeonhole, his work is usually bold and vibrant—in a word, “confident.”

Though he does some residential work, Brudnizki always knew he wanted to do commercial projects. “I prefer it, because it has a beginning, a middle and an end. It has to finish. The restaurant has to open,” he says. “The psychology of it—you make decisions when you design a commercial space, and you see how that affects the business—I always thought that was interesting.”

Plus, he simply enjoys the challenge. “Restaurants are one of the most complex projects you can design. From the staff movement and guest movement through space to materiality to coordination of an enormous amount of technical issues, there’s just so much,” he says. “If you can design a restaurant, you can design anything.”

On this episode of the podcast, Brudnizki discusses his strategy for leading a large firm, shares his thoughts on the post-pandemic return to the office and explains why he always likes to take on just a little more work than he can handle. This strategy will have special relevance, he says, if an economic downturn starts to affect the flow of incoming projects.

“We do not know what’s going to happen during the autumn. … the cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine—there are all of these things going on at the same time,” he says. “At the moment, we are looking at every opportunity.”

Listen to the show below. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This episode was sponsored by Serena & Lily and the Future of Home conference.

Homepage photo: Courtesy of Martin Brudnizki Design Studio