Bryan O’Sullivan Q&A

DESIGN ANTHOLOGY UK: The latest pieces in your collection have a celestial influence – how did that come about?

Bryan O’Sullivan: It probably goes back to when we first opened the showroom in London, and we used Sam Wood, the artist, to do a really cool, sketchy interpretation of the cosmos. And then when we were doing PAD last year we were launching a few new pieces, so we started looking for inspiration, and the dreaminess of the celestial was on our moodboard.

DA: How has that initial idea manifested itself in these new pieces?

BOS: We’ve brought it into a motif on the top of the Halcyon table. A lot of our furniture to date has been curvier and more tactile, and I guess I wanted the new pieces to be a bit more sober, but still referencing those designers of the 30s, 40s and 50s that we’re interested in, like Jean-Michel Frank. So while the shapes are quite straight and formal, we wanted to bring the fun in elsewhere, with an inlaid top. And the same for rugs – we launched two new rugs for PAD, with shooting stars and crescent moons that just bring a bit of fun and colour to the floor.

DA: Could you explain more about the material palette, and finding and working with the artisans that can create these pieces?

BOS: Halcyon we did in limed oak, which is a material we use a lot in our projects, but it’s the first time we’ve introduced it to the collection. It has a lightness to it that just takes away from the seriousness of the oak. And then nickel for the inlay, which is again a new material we’ve added.

Most of our suppliers and manufacturers are in the UK, with some in Ireland as well. We have a Rolodex of people we’ve been working with over time for our residential projects. A lot of the time we’re combining materials, so there might be a glass specialist and a metal specialist and it adds a bit of complexity and problem-solving, trying to work out for the first time how the components come together.

DA: You seem to really understand the importance of tactility – is it an important side of design for you?

BOS: Well, the primary objective is that things function, but yes, we try and have something that is aesthetically pleasing, and tactile. Touch is important, whether it’s the fabric you’re choosing or a wood, or the texture of a metal – over the years we’ve slowly perfected where we wanted our metal finishes to be. That’s why working with artisans is so important, because whether it’s a metal or a wood finish or ceramic for a special insert, they’re the different layers that really help it all come together.

DA: How does it work, dividing your time between London and New York?

BOS: For the last four years we’ve been doing six weeks in London, six weeks in London – with a toddler as well. Although we’ve just started him in school in New York, so now it’s more like New York for three weeks, then back for a week. I’m quite used to it now, it just means we have to plan my diary out quite far in advance, plugging in the key dates for every project almost as soon as we start working on it.

DA: You reunited with your old boss, Annabelle Selldorf, for Westmoreland, the cafe at the newly extended Frick Collection in New York. How was that?

BOS: I did my architectural placement at Selldorf back in 2004 or 2005, and she’s one of my absolute role models. I kept in touch with her and she put me forward for Westmoreland; it was very much a collaboration.

DA: What’s the story behind Westmoreland?

BOS: We were trying to give it a timeless feel, without being too current. It was inspired very much by Elsie de Wolf, the designer who did some of the original interiors – there’s a red bamboo chair that’s very her.

Darren Waterston did a darker mural for the little vestibule, and then it transitions into the main restaurant space, with a lighter scheme that wraps around at high level. He took inspiration from the green in the Frick’s Holbein’s paintings for the darker one, and then in the restaurant space he was inspired by some Chinese or Japanese screens, and some other objects as well. So it’s kind of like an abstract interpretation of the Frick Collection. Annabelle Selldorf’s chandelier was a contemporary reimagining of the lanterns that already existed in the courtyard, and then the ceiling rose was also by Darren, as a contemporary interpretation of a ceiling rose, formed in plaster.

DA: Your other recent project in the US is Mamani, a French restaurant in Dallas. Was that quite a different proposition to Westmoreland?

BOS: Henry and Brandon, the two brothers behind it, are only in their early 30s but this was already their fourth restaurant, and they got a Michelin star six weeks after opening in Dallas. So they’re really inspiring. They love Claridge’s and some of the bars we’d done, and that’s how they came across us, I think.

‘Mamani’ was what they called their grandmother, who was a very chic, well-travelled lady who lived in France for a lot of her life. As they put it, the food is Parisian by way of the Riviera, so a lot of our references were taken from classic French bistros, but then we made it a little bit more current.

DA: What else is in the pipeline?

BOS: We’re working on the Shore Club in Miami. It takes an influence from those art deco pastel colours of South Beach, but with some quite clean lines. And an exciting project in Odense in Denmark, a 1920s restaurant in a park that is being brought back to life.

And then there’s a Gilded Age townhouse on Fifth Avenue, for husband and wife clients who were just really fun to work with. They were really adventurous when it came to colour and art. So that’s been a dream project.

DA: What are some of the changes you’ve seen in hospitality design lately?

BOS: There’s a place for fine dining, but on the whole people prefer something that’s a little more approachable, like what we did with Claridge’s restaurant. It’s still very elevated, the food is still incredible but they wanted to make it feel like you could come in two or three times a week, not just for that special occasion.

At the Shore Club, the main lobby has to be a day-to-night space that has a café-bar component by day but in the evening it transitions into a little cocktail bar. So we were trying to work out those subtle changes, like the lighting, that will make the space versatile. As an operator, you need to make sure that your spaces are working for you, and making money, during the day and night.

DA: You live between two cities and are obviously incredibly busy – how do you creatively recharge?

BOS: I find exercise unbelievably important, I just find your brain works better when you’ve had good sleep and exercise.

I’m from a town called Kenmare in County Kerry in Ireland and I try and get there. Since becoming a dad I find I’m going there a lot more with our little boy. First of all because I think it’s nice having your family around you for support, but also, it’s a really beautiful place. There are amazing walks on the sea, the highest mountains in Ireland – I find going there just to be in the outdoors, or just spend time with family, really restorative. And then I can come back to work ready to hit the road running.