Interiors: Michèle Oberdieck’s screens of floating florals are ethereal room accents
Mich�le Oberdieck - Credit: Archant
With floating floral imagery, Highgate-based artist Michèle Oberdieck’s fused glass panels look far too delicate and ethereal to protect walls from grease splatters.
A fused glass splashback with Michèle Oberdieck's 'Spring Leaves' design - Credit: Archant
Yet the botanical designs, hand printed onto either silk or linen and then fused between sheets of glass in a kiln, are much more hard-wearing than they at first appear.
They can be used for a range of interiors purposes from feature walls to sliding screens, table tops, shower doors and beyond. Oberdieck gets mostly private clients but has also had commissions from banks, from Daks and Debeers on Bond Street and for spas on cruise liners.
Aqua floral splashback in a bathroom - Credit: Archant
And while her mainstay may be botanical imagery, Oberdieck is not afraid to approach new challenges.
“A Turkish family wanted a crescent shape motif in a set of doors so I did a design for them with that in mind,” she says.
'Gingko' door - Credit: Archant
You may also want to watch:
“I came up with something related to that kind of half moon shape that’s in the flag, but it also crops up in a lot of Miró paintings. That was a nice change.”
Her background in textiles is behind the panels’ subtle beauty and she has a huge range of different colourways that she works with, although clients are also free to try out their own.
Kitchen splashbacks - Credit: Archant
Most Read
- 1 O2 Centre redevelopment consultation opened by Camden Council
- 2 Government punishes Haringey Council over missed housing target
- 3 Remembering 'positive, caring and kind' Hornsey pupil Amy
- 4 'Two people who love each other': 70 years together for Hermi and Shirley
- 5 'Dumped and forgotten': Homeless families on life in England's Lane hostel
- 6 Talking Bob Dylan, life, culture, politics and Shakespeare
- 7 I completely trust Aubameyang says Arsenal boss Arteta
- 8 UCS Hampstead pupils launch podcast to help GCSE history revision
- 9 West Hampstead flat owners face £100k bills for flammable cladding
- 10 Morrisons opens replacement store in Chalk Farm
In a world of interiors that contain any shade in the spectrum, so long as it’s grey, the most popular colour of the moment is somewhat surprising.
“What’s been in fashion for quite a number of years is a kind of mustard colour,” says Oberdieck.
Michèle Oberdieck - Credit: Archant
“People who would never wear yellow are now really going for it in their homes. It picks up a room.
“A common colour for walls at the moment is that Farrow & Ball Elephant’s Breath colour, so a really punchy mustard yellow works really well. My range of yellow cushions sold out at the recent Made London fair.”
Specially commissioned doors featuring a crescent motif - Credit: Archant
The screens have varying opacity, depending on the type of fabric used. Linen creates an opaque screen, while silk gets quite transparent when fused with the glass.
According to Oberdieck, the floating imagery offered by silk is somewhat more popular but practical considerations still come into play.
“For shower doors clients might want a silk so it’s transparent but with parts etched out so there’s still some privacy.
“Alternatively, people sometimes want to hide the kitchen from the dining room, so then they’ll go for a solid linen.”
Read more:
Interiors: Why Fameed Khalique is the go-to person for unique materials
Haute couture papers by Maida Vale duo add luxe to north London interiors
West Hampstead rugs add splashes of colour to homes around the world
