Contemporary Accessories

Contemporary accessories, as gathered across ADORNO's accessories collection, are the small objects that give a room its edge: trays, bowls, vessels and sculptural objects worked in stoneware, glass, wood and metal by independent studios that favor clean, considered lines over ornament. What ties them together is less a single material than an attitude toward form, plus a visible process, whether that process is cast, sand-cast, hand-built or cold-worked.

What defines the contemporary style here

The style reads through restraint rather than decoration. Surfaces stay close to their material: brushed steel, polished chrome, raw brass left to darken, stoneware glazed in a single color rather than patterned. Forms tend toward geometric volumes, circles, cylinders, cut planes, rather than historical reference, which is what separates these contemporary accessories from pieces built around period detail or heavy carving, a distinction easiest to trace across contemporary pieces across ADORNO.

Materials, finishes and the ways they are made

Metal is one strand among several: brass, steel, chrome and stainless steel, worked through metalwork, sand casting, metal casting and patination. Brass takes a patina over months of handling, moving from bright gold toward a warmer, uneven bronze; steel and chrome hold their finish longer and show fingerprints before they show age. Studios working this way range across the metal accessories on ADORNO, from sand-cast forms with visible texture to chrome surfaces polished to a mirror.

Glazed stoneware and ceramic make up the largest share, hand-built and glazed, often in black, white, off-white or green, with the glaze pooling slightly at edges where it was applied by hand. Glass follows, cold-worked or cast, left clear or tinted amber. Color across the group stays close to a short list: black, white, silver, amber and the occasional pink or multicolor piece, chosen to sit against a room rather than compete with it. Several pieces in stoneware and glaze finishes can be found among the ceramic accessories on ADORNO. Editions vary too: some pieces are made to an open run, others as one-offs, sold as unique pieces where no two will match exactly.

How to choose a piece for scale and placement

Start with the surface it will sit on. A console or sideboard can carry taller, heavier forms; a side table or desk asks for something lower and lighter, so it does not block sightlines. Match finish to the room's other metals, chrome with chrome fittings, brass with warmer wood tones, so a piece reads as part of the room rather than an afterthought.

• For a dining or coffee table, choose a low bowl or vessel that holds weight without blocking conversation across the table.
• For a shelf or console, taller cylindrical or sculptural forms carry more visual weight from across the room.
• For a desk or bedside table, smaller cast or glazed pieces work as quiet, functional objects rather than statements.

Where these pieces sit and how to care for them

Living rooms take consoles and shelves well; dining rooms take centerpieces and trays; studies and bedrooms suit smaller cast or glazed objects kept within reach. Many of the same forms, scaled up into lamp bases and fittings, appear among contemporary lighting built around the same restrained palette.

Care follows the material. Wipe metal with a dry or barely damp cloth, and expect brass to darken unless it is polished back; steel and chrome need only occasional cleaning to keep their shine. Glass should be washed by hand rather than left to soak, and stoneware glazes are best kept away from abrasive cleaners that can dull the surface. Kept this way, contemporary accessories hold their finish and their presence for years, the material doing the work rather than any applied decoration.