Oriel Harwood’s Baroque Design

Oriel Harwood, one of the best designers and creators of contemporary decorative arts in the Baroque style, received me, my colleague Egan Seward, and denizen of this blog, Josh van Gelder, at Castle House, her studio and residence in London.

I admire her work because although the pieces are inspired by historic styles, they are new creations, not the sum of recycled parts. I think much of the success of the objects stems from her hand as a sculptor and her skill at compacting or creating space with the objects she creates.

When I first met Oriel, she made a mirror that I still have hanging in my New York loft. I had originally planned to hang it in our main room. However, when I installed my family's Victorian furniture in the bedroom, it looked pretty much like a forlorn thrift shop. Placing Oriel's mirror here transported and transformed the entire decoration of the room

I contend that every room, no matter how historic, needs something modern to make it work for today. Hence, I have continued to look to Oriel for these kinds of objects.