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Tom Hanks has been collecting typewriters for years; Cameron Diaz is said to have accumulated a large number of bridal bouquets; and Demi Moore is a proud owner of a few thousand Barbie dolls. Among the rich and famous, there are also ones who aimed to collect art. Renowned for their private collections are, among others, David and Victoria Beckham, polish tennis player Wojciech Fibak, and the fashion designer – Tommy Hilfiger.

Prominent art collections require spaces appropriate in size and concept, and their owners take different routes to ensure their best possible presentation. Some build private galleries, some lend their collections to public museums, and others surround themselves with art on a daily basis by using it to decorate their multi-million residences. One of the most interesting private abodes is the Miami mansion of Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee, where the interiors are tailored to the art they house, not the other way round.

The interiors designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard are inspired by the pieces in Hilfiger’s collection and intended to complement them. The beachfront residence has nothing to do with a stereotypical abode of an art-collector – pompous and ostentatiously luxurious. Rather, it is a whimsical playground where the boundaries between art and decor have been blurred.

The extensive collection of the Hilfigers is dominated by contemporary art pieces across different genres: painting, graphic prints, sculpture, photography and design. Among them, the Pop-art movement, whose playful spirit seems to have transcended the underlying interior decoration concept, is particularly well represented. Indeed, the unusual pairings of artworks conceived by Bullard and Hilfiger result in vibrant spaces where sharp contrasts between elements help accentuate the individual pieces. For example, iconic paintings by Andy Warhol – the designer’s late friend – and Jean-Michael Basquiat are complemented by Paul Evans’s decadent furniture. The hyperrealist sculpture of a security guard by Marc Sijan stands right next to a Keith Haring’ panel mounted on a wall, bringing to mind a real-life museum scene. In many instances, the inspiration for decor is drawn from a specific painting or sculpture in the collection, giving it a conceptually bold, one-of-a-kind character.

In the collection accumulated by Tommy Hilfiger over the years every piece comes together, attesting to the designer’s personal taste and purposeful commitment in collecting. The space designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard to display it is likely to polarize opinions, but whether you love it or hate it, the residence is inarguably a one-of-a-kind haven for contemporary art and in itself – a total, universal artwork. Afterall, isn’t interior design all about surrounding ourselves with what we’re passionate about, what brings us joy and inspiration?

transl. Paulina Kalka