When visiting grandparents in Budapest as a child, Hungarian artist and designer Gergei Erdei was mesmerised by the ornate furniture in their home. His grandfather, Pali, worked as a TV mechanic under the communist regime: if clients couldn’t pay, they’d offer an item from their home instead. As a result, his grandparents amassed an eclectic assortment: “Their house was a treasure trove,” says Erdei. “I don’t think anything was very valuable – and maybe I was a strange kid – but I found it so stimulating to examine and touch all the textures and patterns.”
Erdei has channelled his early memories into a collection of six made-to-order pieces with British lighting and furniture company Porta Romana. Including mirrors, tables and lights, the series marries the brand’s expertise in decorative, handpainted finishes with Erdei’s meticulous attention to detail and uninhibited taste for excess. “I’ve had a long-standing relationship with purely decorative, completely unnecessary details,” he says. “As a kid, I was obsessed with wine glasses and couldn’t figure out why all glasses didn’t have wonderfully tall stems.”
A Teatro console table with Romano travertine top, £23,496, and mirror, £4,698 © Laurence Hills
