The World of Interiors January 2021

1 The designer and sculptor William P. Sull ivan began carving aged ten under the tutelage of his cabinetmaker neighbour. Numerous prestigious projects – not to mention years – later he’s teamed up with hardware manufacturer Nanz. Nature and the sculptor’s hand can be seen in the 35 or so handles and pulls in the ‘Sullivan’ collection (from $3,000 a pair), made using the lostwax-casting process. Ring 001 212 367 7000, or visit nanz.com. 2 Swyft by name, swift by nat ure: the so-named brand claims its flat-pack ‘Model 03’ sofa can be put together in just five minutes without tools. That’s not all the seating has going for it. Navi gating doors and stairs is a breeze, and the five modules (from £330) can be configured in various ways and…

THE LIVES OF OTHERS: SUBLIME INTERIORS OF EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE (by Simon Watson; Rizzoli, rrp £50) Surely it must be simple enough to photograph an interior? It’s not as if your sitter will fail to turn up; or answer back; you don’t have to worry about what to do with their hands or resent them fidgeting, looking bored or gazing at the clock. But it turns out that even the greatest of interiors photographers – and Simon Watson is at the top of the tree – are prone to quotidian anxieties. Watson has a gift for rendering colours authentically and stilling life beautifully. Here his touch is so light that even the grandest, Flemish tapestry-hung salon becomes intimate and approachable. Yes, the Schloss Hollenegg, home for two centuries to the Liechtenstein family,…

THINGS TO SEE Tate Britain’s monumental portico on Millbank is ordinarily a sober testament to the Victorians’ belief in the edifying power of art – until wintertime, that is. Then the gallery breaks out the fairy lights and that imposing Neoclassical façade comes over slightly more playful, like a maiden aunt tipsy on Tio Pepe. The fourth such outdoor installation is Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s REMEMBERING A BRAVE NEW WORLD, a swirl of festive neon that mixes references to mythology, Bollywood, radical feminism and more. Catch it until 31 JANUARY (details: tate.org.uk). Just in time to capitalise on the pre-you-know-what spending frenzy, PADESIGNARTONLINE.COM is a new permanent digital platform from the people behind the Pad art-and-design fairs. Remember now: a mid-century Botero dog sculpture is for life, not just Christmas. THINGS TO…