Must-haves for fall from ‘Top Design’ host

Associated Press
Published: September 9, 2008

India Hicks, the new host of Bravo’s “Top Design,” has style in spades. Asked to pick her must-haves for fall, Hicks is mindful of price. She predicts that design will become more democratic, with better mass market choices, such as those found at Target and IKEA.
ANYTHING LACQUERED: Hicks thinks the influence of India and China will be felt in the home. She’s particularly fond of Jonathan Adler’s large, lacquered orange tray. “I prefer the more modern take on this than the purely
traditional,” she says.
BRIGHT COLORS: Bright, happy colors are just the thing for an economic downturn, spelling an “end to the tyranny of beige good taste,” Hicks says. She suggests bold paint palettes such as Mandarine from The Little Greene Paint co., or the “Hippie Beads” print from the David Hicks by Ashley Hicks line from Groundworks/Lee Jofa.
CHEAP-CHIC: For her Island Night diffuser made with Crabtree & Evelyn, Hicks says she took care to make something tasteful but affordable.
DAY: “This company’s clothes and interior objects will become right on trend as the details in their designs give you a highly personal touch and style at an accessible price range,” she says. Key to the look is “bohemian softness.”
GETTING PRACTICAL: Hicks will be looking for design that is equal parts form and function, such as the Marais high stool from Design Within Reach. “Reportedly used by the French navy, (it) would sit comfortably in any kitchen
today,” she says.
—The Associated Press