January 2022 Editor's Letter

MagazineJanuary 2022 Editor's LetterAD's Editor-in-Chief unveils what's in store for this month's issue

By Amy Astley

November 30, 2021

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A ski chalet in Megève, France, with interiors by Elliott Barnes.Photo: Floto+Warner

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Storytelling is at the heart of every memorable interior and certainly sits at the heart of AD. Our editorial team works tirelessly for months (even years!) in advance to secure spectacular spaces for our annual AD100 issue. The goal? To ensure that we deliver all the dazzle readers rightfully expect from the world’s most exciting design talents.

With AD100 inductee Rayman Boozer in NYC.

Rommel Demano/BFA.com

Every project featured this month is the creation of a person or firm honored this year, and each weaves its own tale. Some are the brainchild of names long familiar to “the list,” such as the power triumvirate of architect Annabelle Selldorf, landscape designer Madison Cox, and interior designer Jeffrey Bilhuber, jointly responsible for a singular residence in the desert in Marfa, Texas, for a particularly discerning couple. Others are by more recent additions and returnees, like Paris-based American architect Elliott Barnes and the deeply experienced interior designers Jane Hallworth, Darryl Carter, and Rayman Boozer.

Defying desert expectations, a pretty bedroom in Marfa, Texas, decorated by Jeffrey Bilhuber.

Photo: William Jess Laird

The fanciful Sussex drawing room of Martin Brudnizki. 

Photo: Henry Bourne

In every home, each of the key players talks about the importance of building a kind of plotline for the transportive spaces they dream up—interiors usually meant for others but in the case of London- and New York–based Martin Brudnizki, for himself and his life/business partner, Jonathan Brook. “This is a fantasy of English arcadian life by a Swede who didn’t grow up in houses like this,” says the designer of the historically minded yet utterly madcap Sussex retreat. “It’s an extreme point of view, but it’s not for a client; it’s for me and Jonathan. This is our own story.” In New York City, ASH NYC conjured a dramatic and colorful, lush and layered vibe for the kind of industrial Tribeca loft that often gets the all-white, minimalist treatment. “I like to look at things through a theatrical lens,” says Will Cooper, partner and chief creative officer of the firm. “What narrative unfolds when you open the door? We paint a picture for you; we make a movie for you to live in.”

That’s show business with the AD100 stars! Curtain up on the January issue.

In the L.A. house of Sean Rad and Lizzie Grover Rad, designed by Jane Hallworth.

Photo: Sam Frost