Smartologie: Lenny Kravitz for Ocean Drive Magazine October 2013

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Lenny Kravitz for Ocean Drive Magazine October 2013

But the biggest compliment he’s ever gotten came the day when Stevie Wonder entered his Miami home. “He came in, took off his shoes, and as I was walking him to sit down, he said, ‘This space is so beautiful,’” recalls Kravitz, still in awe over the comment years later. “Imagine that—it’s all based on feel and vibe
Read more at http://oceandrive.com/personalities/articles/lenny-kravitz-lives-outside-the-lines#PxVLB2FE7d51vYuV.99

But the biggest compliment he’s ever gotten came the day when Stevie Wonder entered his Miami home. “He came in, took off his shoes, and as I was walking him to sit down, he said, ‘This space is so beautiful,’” recalls Kravitz, still in awe over the comment years later. “Imagine that—it’s all based on feel and vibe.”
Read more at http://oceandrive.com/personalities/articles/lenny-kravitz-lives-outside-the-lines#PxVLB2FE7d51vYuV.99

On the biggest compliment he’s ever gotten when Stevie Wonder entered his Miami home: “He came in, took off his shoes, and as I was walking him to sit down, he said, ‘This space is so beautiful,’” recalls Kravitz, still in awe over the comment years later. "Imagine that—it’s all based on feel and vibe."

On doing music, movies and more recently interior design through his firm, Kravitz Design (see images of his designs below): “They all go hand in hand, and they all inspire each other,” says Kravitz, who counts the iconic photographer/filmmaker/writer Gordon Parks among his greatest heroes. “He was the first African-American photographer to shoot for Vogue and Life. He directed Shaft, wrote symphonies, and a brilliant book called The Learning Tree. I thought, ‘That’s beautiful that this guy can express himself in many different ways and not be inside a box.’”

“They all go hand in hand, and they all inspire each other,” says Kravitz, who counts the iconic photographer/filmmaker/writer Gordon Parks among his greatest heroes. “He was the first African-American photographer to shoot for Vogue and Life. He directed Shaft, wrote symphonies, and a brilliant book called The Learning Tree. I thought, ‘That’s beautiful that this guy can express himself in many different ways and not be inside a box.’”
Read more at http://oceandrive.com/personalities/articles/lenny-kravitz-lives-outside-the-lines#PxVLB2FE7d51vYuV.99

When it comes to interior design, comfort is key. The goal, says Kravitz, 49, is to “achieve a vibe that’s got a lot of expression, that is comfortable, that makes the social experience deeper.” Kravitz Design, formed in 2003, aims to “create spaces where you just want to be with people, to talk, eat, drink, listen to music, and laugh."

“Even as a child, I would pay careful attention to the lights, to how things were positioned in the room. I would go find these funky lights for my stereo in these weird little head shops, and I had posters and plants everywhere—the typical things a teenager would do to give his room vibe. But it was really important to me because it made me want to be more creative, and it enhanced the way I listened to music. I saw then how those things went hand in hand—music and interiors, and obviously fashion. I grew up watching amazing artists who had a flair for expressing themselves through their clothing.”

“I was around people like Miles Davis, who at that time had moved from his suit look to being really funky, wearing all these great leather, suede, and denim outfits, big glasses, and ethnic jewelry. A lot of my parents’ friends were poets, writers, actors, and directors, and this was the very early ’70s in New York City, so people were very colorful. And their apartments were very expressive, and I was just drawn to that.”

“When I make my music, I write it, I produce it, I play the instruments—it’s my expression 100 percent. What I love about making films is that it’s completely not about me; it’s about a director’s vision, it’s about the character, and I’m there to serve. The music was a reaction of doing that all day. Something was brewing inside of me, so it had to come out. At night it would just be, Okay, now I am back to being me, and directing myself—and doing what it is that I do.”

Kravitz and his firm, Kravitz Design, are responsible for some of the hippest spaces around Miami, such as the Paramount Bay condominium. This is the main lobby with its walnut and smoked-glass staircase: