At the recent High Point furniture fair, designer Barbara Barry's new secretary for Baker, the Social Study, beckoned across the showroom. Understated details demanded a closer look: a taupe lacquered finish, patinated bronze hardware, elegantly tapered legs. How does such simplicity become arresting? True luxury and beauty, Barry explains, are all in the details.
WHAT MAKES THE SOCIAL STUDY SO BEGUILING?
BARBARA BARRY: Craft. The eye is sophisticated, it picks up nuances. Something made to stand the test of time is set apart. If you want quality in your life, you want it in everything. You want it in a cup of coffee, you want it at dinner, whether you make it yourself or buy it in a restaurant. You have a standard, and you appreciate the differences. Luxury is not about style or trends. It's truly craft-a tradition of fine things done well.
HOW DO CRAFT AND NUANCE PLAY OUT IN THIS PIECE?
BB: A simple form is hard because everything shows and must be made with care. Lacquer, for instance, is much trickier to apply than paint. It's a headache. It must be done by hand, and it's subjective. You work with the artisan and say, OK, I want it beige with a little pink. I also wanted it to fade back without a high sheen, and that has to be rubbed out, also by hand.
HOW DID YOU APPROACH THE HARDWARE?
BB: I designed all the hardware, which is an involved process: After I draw it, a piece gets carved, then cast in wax, then cast in solid bronze and finished. Each piece is antiqued to better match the tone of the wood, and they follow a wonderful sense of scale: The smaller drawers get smaller knobs. The drawers themselves are lined in chocolate-brown velvet and have self-closing glides-you just push lightly and you don't have to wait the extra second to see if it's shut. It just sucks it up. I love that. There's joy in it. It's a thoughtful gesture that shows we thought about how you would actually use the secretary.
SO FUNCTION IS AN ELEMENT TOO?
BB: It's the most important element. Function is beauty. I love order. There's freedom in it. There's a place here to put your keys, your stationery, your stamps. Or linens, glasses and trays. There's a leather-topped pull-out shelf for writing letters or working on your laptop. I think that's so important. The world is chaotic. So much is out of our control. It's lovely when something as ordinary as a piece of furniture can make you feel like there's rightness in the world.
IT'S NOT JUST A DESK, THEN?
BB: I think when something has cubbies and interior spaces like this you can have fun with it. As your life changes, your needs change too. I had an armoire I'd inherited in my dining room forever, but now it's in my bedroom filled with sweaters and linens. And you know, it could go into somebody else's house for the next hundred years and store something different. The Social Study is just as versatile. You could have a collection of shells in it and it becomes a fabulous curio cabinet. I love setting it up as a bar. I love setting it up with a flat-screen computer and a wireless keyboard.
WHAT MAKES IT SO VERSATILE?
BB: Simplicity. When you think of the big picture in a room, you have to keep things simple; nothing ever stands alone. It's kind of like dressing. If a man wears a wild tie and a wild pocket square and a wild vest, the end result isn't going to be very elegant. I design simple pieces because I want the end result to be a sense of calm--not decoration.
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PRODUCED BY EUGENIA SANTIESTEBAN SOTO
