Interiors and Architecture

A list of interior and architectural design work undertaken by Oliver Messel throughout his lifetime.

1920s - 1960s: Various murals (including San Marco Restaurant, London, and Wright Ludington’s villa Val Verde, Santa Barbara), party decorations (The Georgian Society Ball, Osterley Park, London), and a variety of small-scale interiors
1942 - 1944: Restoration and redecoration of Assembly Rooms, Norwich
1946: Designs for a new proscenium arch and curtains for Glyndebourne Opera House, Sussex
1950: Decorations for auditorium and the Royal Box, Royal Opera House, London
1953: Interiors for suite of rooms at the Dorchester Hotel, London, the decoration of the Royal Box, Royal Opera House, London and the façade of the Dorchester Hotel in honour of the Queen’s coronation
1954: Interiors and window displays for Justerini & Brooks wine merchants, London, wedding suite at the Dorchester Hotel, London, and decorations for the Royal Box, Royal Opera House, London for state visit of King of Sweden
1956: Interior for the Pavilion Room at the Dorchester Hotel, London
1957: Designs for reconstruction of Reader’s Digest office, Paris
1959: Interiors for Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven and Billy Rose Theatre, New York and interior and exterior of Rayne shoe shop, London
1960 - 1963: Interior for Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire
1961 - 1963: Interior for Assembly Rooms, Bath
1963 - 1978: Interior and exterior designs for over 35 houses in the Caribbean including Les Jolies Eaux for HRH Princess Margaret in Mustique, Queen’s Park Theatre Complex, Barbados, and the Cotton House Hotel and series of properties on Mustique for Colin Tennant.

You can search for any of the commissions or properties above using our online catalogue here.

These resources are kindly supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.