New Pieces in Bryan O’Sullivan Studio’s Vintage-Inspired Collection Come to PAD London
The studio’s debut at the collectible art fair is a highly anticipated event.
“Craft, texture, material, and form is always at the core of what we do,” says Bryan O’Sullivan of Bryan O’Sullivan Studio, the interior design firm based in London and New York whose elegant and eclectic interiors can be found at five-star addresses around the world, including luxury yachts, resplendent penthouses, and high-end hotels.
For a taste of what O’Sullivan brings to the table, look to Claridge’s in Mayfair, where in 2021 his team transformed an underused storage space located between the hotel’s check-in area and ballroom into the Painter’s Room, an opulent art deco–inspired cocktail parlour whose centrepiece is a bar made of fluted pink Iranian onyx.
“Our aesthetic favours authentic glamour, realized through refined lines and inviting curvilinear shapes paired with custom contemporary furnishings and immaculate, considered antiques,” the designer says.
At this year’s PAD London—the studio’s first time at the collectible design fair––he will exhibit the Bryan O’Sullivan Collection, which was first unveiled in 2023. The 36-piece set includes refined yet playful furniture and lighting in an array of deliciously soft textures (bouclé, linen) and delicate Jordan almond hues (blue, white, yellow, pink). Many of the pieces are one of a kind or available in limited editions and have been created in collaboration with skilled craftspeople, many of whom are from O’Sullivan’s native Ireland.
Those looking for a sumptuous statement piece can feast their eyes on a buttery-soft moon-shaped sofa appropriately named the Croissant, a Schurmann table lamp with a glass base that resembles a giant pomegranate seed, or a hefty walnut Harvest table inlaid with brass broccoli stems and mother-of-pearl mushrooms. (As the Financial Times reported when the collection debuted, a bespoke version of this dining table created for a client in Los Angeles featured inlays of a doughnut, police car, joint, and Kim Kardashian’s behind.)
Those with a more bite-sized budget can still leave satiated by bringing home a Bryan O’Sullivan Studio Obsidian candle (scented with Calabrian bergamot, sensuous jasmine, creamy vanilla, woodsy olibanum, and musky ambergris) or a copy of O’Sullivan’s first book, A New Glamour, which collects 10 years of design projects––including five never seen before by the public.
Visitors will also have the first chance to see some fresh takes on classics. “We have designed five new pieces which will be debuted at PAD,” O’Sullivan says, revealing that “reinterpretations of previous designs include a new curved version of the Croissant sofa and the Lily sconces that flank the marble fireplace, whilst the Baloo armchair, a take on the classic wingback chair, and the Hanami chandelier, inspired by Japanese cherry blossoms, for example, offer some totally new shapes for us.”
The Baloo armchair is “so called for its welcoming bear-like appeal,” O’Sullivan says, and it is a “strong contender” for his current favourite piece in the collection. It features “an enveloping upholstered frame, European oak legs, and brass detailing” and is supremely versatile. O’Sullivan imagines it “in a living room, perhaps in a pair, in the nook of a study completing a corner for reading or beside a bed in a bedroom” and notes that “like so many of the pieces from our collection, the finishes can be bespoke so they fit seamlessly into their surroundings.”
With its intuitive and idiosyncratic blend of classical proportions from French and Italian midcentury architecture with feel-good fabrics and a jewellery-box palette, Bryan O’Sullivan Studio has crafted a recipe for design success with mass appeal.
Photography by James McDonald.
From October 8 to 13, design connoisseurs leap to PAD London, the international design fair poised to launch its 16th edition. Over 10 weeks, NUVO shines a spotlight on the fair’s roster of talented newcomers, many of whom are local to London, and identifies the artists and exhibitors who should be on every visitor’s radar.
