Let there be no doubt about it, suave as he was, with his bespoke suits, slicked-back hair and patrician good looks, David Nightingale Hicks (1929–98) was a committed revolutionary. Composing rooms of arresting opulence through his magisterial orchestration of cacophonous colors and patterns, Italian modern mixed with Louis XV furnishings and counterintuitive plays of scale, he forever rocked the stately world of interior design.
As a zealot of style, he took no prisoners. “Dedication to design means ruthless criticism and losing friends,” he once declared. He was not exaggerating. His wife claimed that he conceived his signature high-gloss brown walls as a result of her throwing glasses of Coca-Cola at him during their alarmingly frequent marital spats.
By the time he was 25, Hicks, who had attended London’s Central School of Art and Design and endured a couple of arid years in the art department of the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, had the crème de la crème of London society as clients — and he was being entertained by them! Within a few years, he was courting Lady Pamela Mountbatten, the daughter of Lord Mountbatten, the last British viceroy of India, and the uncle of Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband. They married in 1960 and acquired Britwell, a Georgian pile in Oxfordshire, which became the family seat, design lab and showplace.
The first truly modern interior Hicks ever designed was Lord John Cholmondeley’s penthouse overlooking Hyde Park, in 1967. The graphic boldness of the scheme — brightly colored walls outlined in dark hues and dynamic geometric-patterned carpets — echoed the energy and attitude of the hard-edge painting that was then at the fore. Here, as in all his interiors, he included what he called “tablescapes,” vignettes of artfully arranged objects and artworks that added interest and life to the room. They were soon widely copied. Another landmark interior came in the early 1970s, when he revived Baronscourt, a grand neoclassical house in Northern Ireland, by giving it an entirely contemporary decor.
In addition to his immense creative talent, Hicks had a keen entrepreneurial acumen and vision. While he could have made a fine business simply designing grand homes for the wealthy and titled, he expanded his studio to include offices, boutiques, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs. He had showrooms all over the world, and he embarked on licensing agreements for ranges of vividly hued, geometric-patterned sheets and towels, clothes, umbrellas and bags.
The British designer was as daring as he was debonair, deploying a brazen mix of colors and patterns that came to define the groovy-glamorous interiors of the Swinging Sixties.
Find David Hicks furniture on 1stDibs.
David Hicks Stacked "Sculpture" Table, circa 1960s
By David Hicks
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
An unusual and rare coffee table by David Hicks, known as "Tavola Scultura". Stacked ,chrome-plated metal pieces arranged in a clever graduated design. Original tempered glass top.
Large Mid-Century Glass and Stainless Steel Console by David Hicks
By David Hicks
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Large Mid-Century English steel, brass and glass console table by David Hicks. Circa 1970. Literature: A. Bony, Meubles et décors des années 70, les éditions du regard, Paris, 2005,...
Stainless Steel
Vintage Pair Giltwood Specimen Marble Occasional Tables Mid 20th Century
By David Hicks
Located in London, GB
This is an elegant pair of Vintage Regency Revival giltwood occasional tables with specimen marble tops by the great English decorator David Hicks, mid-20th century in date. The ci...
Marble
Danish Mahogany Round Coffee Table, 1960s Scandinavian Modern Design
Located in Hellouw, NL
Charming Danish Round Coffee Table in Mahogany, the 1960s. This table has a gold-colored lining across the table and the tabletop. It has a mi...
Wood, Mahogany
Tomlinson American 1960s Walnut Coffee Table
By Tomlinson
Located in New York, NY
A wonderful 1960s cocktail table with a cerused limed wood base and a polished burl match-booked walnut top. Original label.
Walnut
Mid Century Iron and Glass Console Table
By Diego Giacometti
Located in Bradenton, FL
Brutalist Style Black Iron and Glass Console or Sofa Table, circa 1970s, in the style reminiscent of Giacometti. Brutalist furniture, popularized from the 1950s through the 1970s, em...
Iron
Mid-Century Iron and Glass Console Table
Located in Westwood, NJ
Mid-century iron and glass console table, the frame is solid iron bar stock that is hand wrought and incised with continuous ridges on all 4 sides. With three-point corners, an inset...
Iron
Early 20th Century Anglo Indian Occasional Table
Located in London, GB
Early 20th Century Anglo Indian occasional table We share what we love, and we love this aged hard wood example of a large Anglo Indian hard...
Wood
$2,175
H 12.21 in W 39.38 in D 39.38 in
Vintage 1970s Square Coffee Table in Brass and Smoked Glass, David Hicks Style
By David Hicks
Located in London, GB
A stylish vintage 1970s square smoked glass top coffee table attributed to David Hicks. The stacked brass plated architectural base supports a smoked square glass top. There is som...
Metal, Brass
$1,130Sale Price|47% Off
H 16.54 in W 30.91 in D 23.63 in
French Brutalist Coffee Table Exotic Wood, circa 1960
Located in Labrit, Landes
French midcentury coffee table with made with the trunc of a tree from Madagascar (Africa) Brutalist top worn by 3 massive feet. In good condition, with marks of use on the top, fe...
Wood
Pair of Mid-20th Century Chinoiserie Side Tables
Located in London, GB
A sophisticated pair of mid-20th century Chinoiserie side tables, each featuring a finely hand-painted lattice motif in gilt on a black lacquered ground. The square tops are raised o...
Wood, Giltwood, Lacquer
$9,095
H 30.25 in W 60 in D 12 in
J. Wade Beam for Brueton Mid Century Stainless Steel Tee Console Table
By Brueton, J. Wade Beam
Located in Franklin Park, IL
J. Wade Beam for Brueton Mid Century Stainless Steel Tee Console Table This console table measures: 60 wide x 12 deep x 30.25 inches high Excellent Vintage Condition. We take our...
Stainless Steel
Mid-Century Rattan and Glass Top Console Table
Located in Miami, FL
Woven rattan console table with glass top from the 1970s. The lower shelf has a rattan chevron pattern and top shelf is 1/4" clear glass.
Rattan, Glass
Pair of Mid-20th Century French Side Tables
Located in Stockbridge, GA
Beautiful work of the mid-20th century. The marquetry is done with brace covered of the original varnish. the knobs and feet are in chrome. Very nice simple line and so elegant.
Walnut
Mid-Century Modern Brass and Glass Console
By Milo Baughman
Located in Redding, CT
Mid-Century Modern brass and glass console. Laminated brass parsons design with clear glass top. Clean minimalist lines. Use as a console table, entry way or as a small vanity/desk.
Brass
Sold
H 30.91 in W 47.45 in D 19.69 in
Mid-Century English Stainless Steel Console Table by David Hicks
By David Hicks
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
Mid-Century stainless steel console table by David Hicks. With a glass top and shelf below, steel frame and brass accents. David Hicks (1929-1998), is widely regarded as the most i...
Steel
Sculptural Brass Coffee Table, David Hicks, 1970s
By David Hicks
Located in Helsinki, Uusimaa
Sculptural coffee table, designed by David Hicks, 1970s. Brass frame with glass table top. Good vintage condition, minor patina consistent with age and use. Gorgeous design. David ...
Brass
David Hicks Sofa Table, circa 1970s
By David Hicks
Located in Stockholm, SE
A coffee table designed by David Hicks, circa 1970s. Made in gilt-brass and glass. Retailed by Galleria Pitti, Rome.
Brass
David Hicks Aluminium Kinetic Table
By David Hicks
Located in Grenoble, FR
Rare aluminum coffee table by David Hicks Kinetic movement white crystal tray.
Crystal, Aluminum
Sold
H 16.54 in W 41.74 in D 24.02 in
20th Century David Hicks Brass Metal Rectangular Coffee Table with Glass Top
By David Hicks
Located in London, GB
A fine rectangular brass coffee table of angular design, with square brass cushion supports retaining the original glass top. The underside of the rails engraved with a patent and dated 1971. A similar table designed and supplied to Chester Roth for his apartment in the Pierre Hotel, New York in 1970, illustrated in the David Hicks book.
Brass
"Sculpture" Stacked Chrome Coffee Table by David Hicks, 1960s
By David Hicks
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made from stacked chrome-plated steel strips and with a thick glass top. It was originally sold exclusively through Galleria Pitti in Rome. In excellent condition.
Steel