Farewell Mr. Hadley

On Friday the world learned that iconic Interior Designer Albert Hadley passed away at the age of 91. His name is as synonymous with the industry as “chair” or “window covering”, and his iconic status as America’s preeminent decorator is no accident. He was one of my Interior Design idols, and his presence and example will be sorely missed. When I decided to become an Interior Designer, I could not think of a better person to try to emulate than Mr. Hadley.

By all accounts, Mr. Hadley’s career, was not so much envied and coveted, but admired and aspired to. He did more for the Design industry as an ambassador than could ever be imagined. 

I learned much about him when I bought the Rizzoli book about his life that is in his own words, with commentary by Adam Lewis. His career is nearly mythic in who it cross-references along his journey. When moving to New York he sought out mentors in design legends like Rose Cumming, Billy Baldwin, Van Day Truex and of course he is best known for his collaboration with Sister Parish at their eponymous firm Parish Hadley.

Although I never met Mr. Hadley, I have admired him and his work since before I became a designer. In the Rizzoli book he is quoted as saying:

“ Decorating is not about making stage sets, it’s not about making pretty pictures for magazines; it’s really about creating a quality of life, a beauty that nourishes the soul. Design is coming to grips with one’s real lifestyle, one’s real place in the world. Rooms should not be put together for show, but to nourish one’s well being.”

Thank you Mr. Hadley for showing us how it’s done.

David J. Hansen

*All photos are from House Beautiful and were photographed by Fernando Bengoechea.

The Bunny Factor

Barbara and I attended a talk by Bunny Williams during Design San Francisco in early February. She was booked as one of the keynotes for the program, and I knew I didn’t want to miss it.

Bunny Williams speaking at the San Francisco Design Center.

I must admit that I was not as familiar with Ms. Williams as I probably should be. I knew that she worked for Mrs. Parish and Albert Hadley (American decorating royalty), and I knew that she had married John Rosselli, a celebrated antique dealer in New York, and I knew that I seem to always like whatever I saw of her work (I even mentioned her in my post about Classic chairs here).


Bunny Williams and her husband John Rosselli at their home in the Domincan Republic.

An Entry Way in one of Bunny Williams projects.

Now I know why I seem to like her work so much. In decorating as with many other vocations I find successful people have a pre-disposition to their trade, and this seems to be the case for Bunny Williams. I found her to be charming, down to earth and completely void of any of the “haughtiness” traditionally associated with high profile designers. From her talk, I found her approach to design to be sensible, pragmatic and ultimately tailored to her client’s needs. Although she is known for working on large projects, she talked candidly about “budget” jobs and shared some of her secrets for handling awkward decorating situations e.g.; Paint a low ceiling in a Dining room with shiny Pale Grey or Grey Blue to add height. They don’t really teach this type of thing in Design school per se, this is the voice of experience!

A room by Ms. Williams with plenty of seating.

Bunny also talked at length about a longtime love, her “New England Manor House” featured in the book An Affair with a House. I loved the fact that she bought the windows for the Conservatory literally on the side of the road and knew they would be perfect. My favorite from the book was the Pool house that was built as a sort of Log cabin temple…complete with classical proportions. She spoke about how the center of the pediment in front, covered in pinecones finally needed nails because the glue gun wasn’t working. This from a world class designer!

The Pool House "Temple" from An Affair With a House.

I feel Ms. Williams ultimately elevates our profession through her approachability and graciousness. I spotted her in the Shears & Window showroom afterwards signing copies of her book. When one of the showroom employees (hanging on her every word) asked her if she needed anything she replied “I’ll take a tear sheet on this chair” (the one she was sitting in).

David Hansen

Bunny Williams signing books at the Shears and Window showroom.

It's All in the Hand

Recently I have been inspired by the illustrations of the late, great Mark Hampton. Much has been written in the blogosphere about him and as you probably know, Mr. Hampton was an incredibly talented and very prolific designer who sadly passed in 1998. During his career as a “Decorator” (something people used to be proud to be called) he worked for some of the most talented and well-known firms of the day including David Hicks (with whom he was in partnership), Sister Parish and the prestigious McMillen & Co.

Portrait of Mark Hampton by Henry Koehler which graces the back cover of the Legendary Decorators book.

Mr. Hampton wrote two books; Mark Hampton on Decorating, published in 1989, a collection of essays and illustrations largely drawn from his columns in House & Garden magazine and Legendary Decorators of the Twentieth Century (there is that word Decorator again) published in 1992 which profiled everyone who was anyone in the decorating world from Elsie DeWolf and Billy Baldwin to Madeleine Castaing. Sadly, both books are now out of print but widely available from used sources online. I was introduced to the Legendary Decorators book by my business partner Barbara, who had used it as a text when she was studying at the New York School of Interior Design.

An illustration by Mr. Hampton from the On Decorating book which talks about "The Incomparable Reds" *Notice the Modigliani painting reflected in the mirror that belonged to the owner's grandmother.

Both books are filled with grisaille (monochrome) and full color watercolor illustrations done by Mr. Hampton in the most delightful manner. These illustrations give credence to the fact that there is nothing more beautiful than something done by hand. In this age of mobile phones, email and Twitter, it is rewarding to look at something that is clearly not rushed or immediate. It is apparent by looking that these illustrations that it took a great amount of time to convey the feeling of the space in a far superior way than any photograph or computer illustration would allow.

An illustration of the dressing table belonging to Mr. Hamptons wife in their New York residence from the On Decorating book.

An illustration of a room done by the master Billy Baldwin from the Legendary Decorators book showing Baldwin's trademark etageres.

I have only included some of my favorites from the two books here and encourage you to seek out these books and experience the magic or Mr. Hampton’s hand for yourself. I will post more of these fantastic images as part of another post.

David Hansen