David Hicks - decorator extraordinaire
As many of you know who read my Notebook regularly, I admire the work and taste of David Hicks. His aesthetic and mine are similar in many ways. I think his designs stand the test of time. When you look at the many, many images of Hicks’ work, only the photography looks dated---never the design.
The great thing for all of us who love his designs is that he wrote so many books on the subject that we can all learn from and enjoy. Most are out of print, but available on Amazon.
So, I am using Mr. Hicks words to describe some of my favorite images---remember, these are his words, not mine, although I’ve certainly made many statements on design that are similar---maybe that is why I like him so much.
“A floorplan, however simple, is a basic necessity before attempting to arrive at a colour scheme or even a mental picture of the final look of the room as a whole. It is the manner in which we put our rooms together---the arrangements of the furniture, the lighting and hanging of pictures, the placing of objects, the style of the curtains, etc. which makes a good or poor room.”
“I like all rooms to look as if they are really lived in, but above all, I believe that every room should reflect the personality and taste of the owner.”
“It is always a question of taste. Taste means selection, decision and sensitivity-----if it is to be good.”
“I have a number of different and curious objects related for me by the place where I got them, or some unusual association, but moreover related by texture, form, color and contrast. It is the way they are placed which for me gives these relatively inexpensive objects an aesthetic value and gives the room atmosphere.”
“I believe that interior decoration is the art of accentuating the best and covering up the worst.”
Here are a few of my favorite Hicks images:
I think no one knew how to set up a handsome bar as Hicks did---this is so practical, yet aesthetically pleasing.
Who has ever done such chic bathrooms?
I cannot do a post on Mr. Hicks without including one of his bedrooms----they have in the past and always will inspire the bedrooms I design.
“Each designer in his lifetime really has one basic breakthrough. I think I have become known for my eclectic mixture of yesterday and today, placing a Louis XVI commode in a modern room---placing a modern painting in a period room. That combined with an overwhelming interest in lighting, in colour and in pattern, is what I feel to be my contribution to interior decoration.”
DAVID HICKS
