Bryan O’Sullivan Studio

The Art of the Modern

Bel Air living room by Bryan O'Sullivan
Photo by James McDonald

In one of his first meetings with the owners of an impressively scaled modern architectural residence in Bel-Air, Bryan O’Sullivan recalls, “they referenced Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi movie Blade Runner — a brief we were delighted to run with, blending nineteen-eighties futurism with our own vision of contemporary luxury.” The designer, who has offices in New York and London (where he has crafted interiors for the legendary Mayfair hotels Claridge’s and the Connaught), was tasked with breaking up some of the open spaces to create cozier areas and to add wall space for the clients’ impressive art collection. For this lounging and entertaining room, equipped with a wall-mounted 1960s Dieter Rams stereo system, the designer chose low-slung 1970s furniture — Jacques Charpentier’s stainless-steel and leather California lounge chairs, a chrome-and-glass table by François Monnet and a classic de Sede Snake sofa — to showcase the verdant views outside and a massive Robert Irwin light installation on one wall. He complemented the curves of a 1960s George Nakashima lamp on an Osvaldo Borsani table of the same era with Raphael Navot’s 2016 Moon sofa. O’Sullivan also incorporated contemporary art furniture, including side tables by Tron Meyer and ceramist Bari Ziperstein, a concrete-and-resin bench by Draga & Aurel and Based Upon’s monumental Fragmented Crack coffee table in bronze. “For us,” O’Sullivan explains, “it is all about the considered juxtaposition of furniture from different periods and the role this can play in how a room makes you feel.”

Bryan O'Sullivan
Photo by Jake Curtis

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