My Maestro

At the age of 27, the stunning front cover of House and Garden magazine inspired me to write to the man responsible for the main image - American architect and interior decorator David Easton. David’s work was visually glorious and, to my utter amazement, he offered me a design consultancy role in New York. David and his team welcomed me into their amazing family and for the next four and a half years I worked alongside a design genius. I will be forever grateful.

A Master Builder

David was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1937. While very young, he visited Marshall Field Department store in Chicago. It was a huge, palatial building and became the catalyst for David’s love of design. David moved to New York City when he was 22 and in 1963, he was awarded an architectural degree from the Pratt Institute, a radical university dedicated to nurturing creative leaders. The award of a prestigious scholarship also enabled David to study in Europe before returning to work with New York-based furniture designer, Edward Worsley. A five-year spell at the highly regarded design firm Parish Hadley followed and by 1972, David was ready for a new adventure. He started his own practice.

Style and Substance

Although David’s design lines became sleeker and simpler in later years, it was his unabashed love for Georgian architecture and interiors that made his name. His evocation and interpretation of the neo-classical English House, layered with design finds from around the world, became highly sought-after. In 1992, his legendary status was marked with an induction to the Interior Design Hall of Fame. David’s brilliant wit and supportive nature were loved by many. He was welcoming, warm and informal and always ready with gorgeous ideas – often sketched on the back of a napkin! David’s team, his clients, all his suppliers - we adored him and were devastated by his death which happened on October 29th 2020.

Keeping The Light On

Travel restrictions caused by Covid meant those of us who knew David were unable to gather to celebrate his life. David’s talent had shone a light on many spaces and so I designed two lanterns to honour him. My partner in this project is the Dorset-based FRD Designers & Makers. A percentage of the lanterns’ prices is donated directly to the Pratt Institute – specifically for their work with school-age pupils and young people. We have two designs for clients to choose from. Just like David, they are unashamedly joyful and full of creative drama:

THE EASTON

A flamboyant and generous design incorporating the pineapple, symbol of hospitality. Looks dramatically beautiful placed in a hall or above a dining table.

THE HARRISON

A statement piece inspired by an antique lantern found on the Fulham Road, London. Like the Easton, can be scaled to suit any size of space or room,