December, 2010 | the CIRCA and the WHO

David WHO

POST10

David Hicks

British designer, David Hicks (1929-1998), was one of the most influential designers of the 1960s and 70s. His bold use of color, geometric patterns, and unexpected mixing of antique and modern furnishings with contemporary abstract art revolutionized International interior design. David Hicks introduced clashing colors, geometrically patterned carpets, large scale objects arranged in small spaces, and carefully arranged compositions of objects and artworks, which he called “tablescapes.”

David Hicks attended London’s Central School of Art. David Hicks was a talented photographer, painter and sculptor. While designing cereal boxes for a London advertising agency, David Hicks began his career in interior design in 1954, after a house he designed for his mother was featured in House & Garden magazine.

David Hicks immediately became one of London’s most sought after designers. His sudden celebrity was further enhanced in 1960 when he married Lady Pamela Mountbatten. Their wedding was described as the most elegant since the Queen’s (then Princess Elizabeth).

via David Hicks 1970

David Hicks’ early clientele included Vidal Sassoon, Helena Rubenstein, the Duchess of Rutland, and Mrs. Conde Nast. Other projects include the Prince of Wales’ 1st apartment at Buckingham Palace, carpets for Windsor Castle, wallpaper for the White House, the Presidential Palace for the President of Ghana, a yacht for King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, guestrooms at Okura Hotel Tokyo, suites at the St. Regis New York, and a nightclub on the QE2 ocean liner, among many others.

David Hicks started to design his own patterned carpets and fabrics when he found none on the market that he considered good enough. By the 1970s, David Hicks Ltd. was producing wallpaper, carpet, fabrics and linens. By the 1980s, David Hicks had offices and shops in 15 countries around the world.

Inspired Reading…

David Hicks wrote that his “greatest contribution as an interior designer has been to show people how to use bold color mixtures, how to use patterned carpets, how to light rooms and how to mix old with new.” (David Hicks on Living – with Taste, 1968) David Hicks created timeless designs. His dramatic colors, embrace of pattern, and mix of antiques and modern pieces formed the basis of David Hicks style, which has influenced and inspired a generation of designers.

Most CIRCA WHO Items would be FAB in a David Hicks inspired design. Here are a few of my current favorites…

CIRCA WHO FAB Finds!

CIRCA WHO Item #3155