Located in the Hotel de Coninck (ca. 1755), a baroque mansion with a lovely courtyard garden dominated by a huge ceramic urn and a modern extension grafted on to the rear, this decorative arts museum showcases the very best in world design. In the old wing, the exhibits range through period salons decked out with swagged curtains, frescoed ceilings, elaborate chandeliers, fine French furniture, and Chinese porcelain in typically aristocratic 18th- and 19th-century Flemish style. Oddly out of context here is a “book table” by contemporary Dutch designer Richard Hutten, entirely comprised of hardcover books and lacquered to give it a shiny, hard finish. In marked contrast to all that heavy, ornate, period luxury, the bright, light-filled new wing sings to a contemporary tune and features sublime examples of Art Nouveau furniture by Henry van de Velde and Paul Hankar, and even the Belgian master of the genre, Victor Horta. Seminal work from the 20th and early 21st centuries feature Alessi silverware, stools in recycled plastic by Bar und Knell Design, and chairs by Richard Gehry. Temporary exhibitions take on controversial subjects such as the use of plastic and pollution.