A New Collection From Olive Ateliers, Inspired by Antiques and Family Heirlooms

It was critical to the team that everything in Tetbury House was imbued with the feeling of inheritance and history. But how does one achieve that kind of patina on a newly-made product? “Our in-house team of designers has really become students of antiquity… they’re deeply obsessed with how materials age and how the finish of something might change over time,” Kendall says, pointing to solid oak, reclaimed pine, aged metals, and heavyweight linens as important materials for the collection. (”Plastic is not part of our repertoire,” she says, with a laugh.)

Photo: Michael Clifford

The James Martin table is a perfect example. “For this piece, it was layers and layers of paint,” Sotelo says. The approach was born from a technique their artisans in India had developed over time, but reimagined together with the in-house design team. “The process doesn’t happen quickly,” she explains. “It’s layers of paint, then they come in and kind of chip it back, and then they come in again with the paint. The process can take days.”

Or there’s that Neverland nightstand mentioned earlier with the detachable cotton dobby skirt. “This nightstand actually has eight layers of wax on it, just to give that feeling of a really well-cared-for antique,” Sotelo says. “So when you run your hand over the top, it feels waxy, and it’s deep, and it’s smooth, and it feels like it has lived many lives.”

Photo: Michael Clifford