Ellen Pompeo is leaning against her marble kitchen counter, the northwest face of the Hollywood Hills arching out through the glass in front of her. Her longtime friend and interior designer, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, plucks an olive from a bowl and picks up his drink.
They’re deep in a design discussion about her closet, a semiregular topic for the two. Its soft black leather upholstered doors and walls, vintage brass hardware, and Brazilian marble island were all part of the renovation of her Mediterranean villa eight years ago. “I love black and white,” she says. “It’s like a metaphor for life—you get darkness but you get so much light.” Martyn interjects, “She’s a design enthusiast. We’ve always had that in common.”
Ellen Pompeo and Martyn Lawrence Bullard on the arched terrace of her 1930s Mediterranean-style home in Los Angeles, where they paired a wooden garden table with French Savonnerie steel and brass chairs from her dining room. Pierced iron lanterns crafted in Morocco hang overhead.
They’ve been friends for more than a decade, are prone to talking over each other, and nearly everything he says makes her laugh. “He’s the most fun dinner guest you could have,” says Pompeo. “He loves to tell stories. That’s really what I’m after when I entertain. I love original spirits, people who bring life to the table.”
In fact, it was Bullard who suggested they co-host tonight’s dinner party, a small gathering of friends to celebrate Pompeo’s hit television series, Grey’s Anatomy, recently making history as the longest running medical drama in the U.S.
“Ellen loves to surround herself with colorful people,” says Bullard. “She has this incredible knack for attracting really fun characters, so her dinner table is always an exciting place. She’s terrific in the kitchen, and I can make a hell of a table, so we figured why not have a bit of a toast?” says the designer.
Here’s more on how the pair channeled their shared love of design, Morocco, and her scenic terrace overlooking Los Angeles into a colorful—but casual—Saturday night feast.
Bullard used a fabric from his own line as the tablecloth. “I love to start with black and white on the table. You’ve got drama and you’ve got balance,” he says. A collection of brass candlesticks range in provenance from 19th- century Ottoman and Spanish colonial to midcentury Indian.
Bullard and Pompeo chose earthenware plates by California- based potter Heath Ceramics and hammered gold flatware by Billy Cotton. Both the napkins and jeweled beakers are Bullard’s design. The napkin pattern was inspired by a Moroccan block print and the glasses by 16th-century Indian Mughal pieces.
In a grouping of blue drinking glasses he brought back from Tangier, Morocco, Bullard mixed deep pink Yves Piaget roses with fresh kumquats from Pompeo’s citrus garden. The brass tray is 1920s Syrian.
Ellen Pompeo: I’ve always gravitated to Moroccan style. It’s cozy and exotic and sexy. The pierced lights, the intricate tilework and patterns that each tell a story. I love how it instantly sets a mood.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard: The aesthetic is timeless. It transcends trends. I think that’s why we feel so comfortable with it. You have a hammam in your house, for heaven’s sake.
EP: It’s true [laughing]. I do have a hammam. But you know, whether you’re defining a room or a party, to me it is all about setting a mood. I think of it like set design in great films. You get to feel like you’re transported somewhere else.
MLB: Well, I’ve always said that if you weren’t an actress, you’d be a designer, and if you were a designer, that would be a problem for me. Competition.
EP: No, I am a fan of the art of interior design. It’s such a difficult craft, so it’s the art and the artists that really fascinate me. You’ve known this since we met—what was it, 12 years ago?
MLB: Yes, at the Dior show. I was sitting in Cher’s seat and you looked at me and said, “You’re not Cher.”
EP: That’s right.
MLB: I think it was the early years of your show. We were neighbors back then but didn’t know it until you invited me over for dinner.
EP: And from then on, we had this deep bond, like we’d known each other long before. Is there a chance we were king and queen in Morocco in a past life?
MLB: Well, you know I’ve been a queen for a while...
EP: [Laughing.] Good point.
Apricot-Mint Cocktails are served poolside as guests arrive. For the cocktails, whisk together ¼ cup each hot water and honey until blended. In a serving pitcher, combine 1 (33.8-oz.) bottle apricot juice, 1 ½ cups gin, ½ cup fresh lemon juice, ¼ cup apricot liqueur, and ½ tsp. each rose water and orange bitters. Add the honey simple syrup and mix well. Chill, then stir in 1 (8-oz.) can club soda. Serve over ice with lemon slices and fresh mint sprigs. Makes 8 servings.
MLB: Back to the topic of your closet. You asked me to help you pick out an outfit for tonight, and I did, but I have to say, there wasn’t much to choose from. For an actress, you have no wardrobe!
EP: That’s because I spent all my money on those closet doors! I might be the only girl in the world who cares more about the design of the doors than what’s actually in the closet.
MLB: Quite possibly. But no, you have brilliant style. And at home, you’ve always had sort of a southern Italy-Côte d’Azur-Moroccan leaning. I’m half French and half Italian, so Mediterranean is my true palette. I love their traditions of simple, fresh foods.
Fresh Moroccan dishes are served buffet-style from Pompeo’s kitchen. On the menu: chicken tagine, herbed couscous, spiced carrots, grapefruit and pomegranate salad, and cauliflower with raisins and sliced almonds. “I love this kind of themed dinner,” says Pompeo. “It can all be prepared beforehand, and it feels more casual when guests can serve themselves.”
EP: For parties, I always do a big, Mediterranean-style platter. It’s so easy. When I was younger, I’d get myself in trouble by doing too much. Now I pare it down. My rule is that I have to have things 90 percent done by the time guests arrive. I just don’t have the ability to talk to guests and chop onions. I’ll lose a finger.
MLB: Yes, no need to overcomplicate things. A mezze platter is perfect. It’s simpler fare, and you don’t end up with anything that makes your guests squeamish. You’ve seen those people who go way over the top and serve—I don’t know —orange-stuffed guinea fowl. And you’re thinking, Can’t I just have a potato or something?
EP: Orange-stuffed guinea fowl?
“I love to do a big, gorgeous board of fresh foods like fruits and nuts and olives. It’s healthy, and it helps simplify things. Plus, you know everything will taste good,” says Pompeo.
MLB: I made it up. I don’t really cook. But I love the flowers, I love the settings, and I have more table services that anyone should be allowed.
EP: Perfect. Then our next dinner party is at your house. Moroccan meets midcentury. We’ll invite everyone we know. ✦
This story originally appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Veranda.
