June 1, 2014

Bruce Gregga: 1987 Hall of Fame Inductee


Bruce Gregga

His first design job was unsolicited. As Bruce Gregga recalls, his lifetime fascination with design began during childhood when he decided that his vacationing parents’ living room needs “a bit of cleaning up.” To this end, he painted the English brown furniture white and replaced existing draperies with simple white hangings. Eventually his parents came to like he results.

Mr. Gregga, Chicago-born, credits his design training to visual sense and passionate reading on the subject; he readily admits to no formal design education. Early professional experience came as a stylist and set designer for the renowned fashion photographer Victor Skrebneski. Mr. Gregga made the transition to interior design in 1970 when he established his firm in Chicago and accepted his first project–design of a friend’s apartment. Initial installations were residential, soon followed by Chicago’s Ultimo shop and a range of important commercial commissions. His roster of credits encompasses the redesign of Chicago’s Whitehall Hotel, the interior design and specifications for 15 McDonald’s restaurants, an addition to the trend-setting Ultimo shop, the design of a 125-ft. yacht and residences nationwide. Mr. Gregga is a member of ASID and the recipient of the Chicago Merchandise Mart’s award for excellence in residential design.

From 1989 to 1999 Mr. Gregga worked on the following projects: a townhouse in Boston, MA; a penthouse in a towering glass and granite skyscraper on Chicago’s Gold Coast; an Art Deco apartment of the late film critic, Gene Siskel; a Fisher Island penthouse apartment; the redesign of a Manhattan duplex for an internationally known art collector; the completion of Mr. Gregg’as own vintage Chicago lakefront apartment and the completion of the Watertower apartment of a longtime client. One of Mr. Gregga’s proudest accomplishments was the completion of the interiors for a yacht. Working with Holland yacht builder C. van Lent, he created the glorious and finely detailed “Battered Bull” for yet another longtime client; a Wisconsin summer house; a coastal California house.

Mr. Gregga lives in Montecito, CA and works as a consultant for

Mr. Gregga Jordan Smieszny

, Chicago and

William Laman Furniture Garden Antiques

in Montecito. When asked what he does best, he responds: “To tell the truth, I’m just beginning. There are so many new avenues [in which] to do things.”



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