A reader recently suggested that I write about Boston designer William Hodgins, whose work has been woefully absent on my blog until today. Hodgins is, in a way, like designer Dan Carithers. Both men eschewed New York for Boston and Atlanta, respectively, and yet, despite not living in the epicenter of the design world, managed to forge high-profile careers and earn their places in the annals of American design.
A good introduction to the work of Hodgins might be this early-1990's House Beautiful article, which featured both his gracious Back Bay apartment and his country house. In both homes, Hodgins has seamlessly blended elegance with comfort, traditional antiques with modern furniture, and American down-to-earth-ness with Continental sophistication, all underpinned by a neutral color palette and Hodgins's rigorous editing.
Also worth pointing out is the seemingly superb quality of both home's furnishings. There are no junky accessories or random-looking pieces of furniture. Everything seems to have been chosen with the utmost care. Then again, that neutral color palette requires superb furnishings, because those neutral tones just don't have the ability to mask inferior furniture and fabrics like robust colors do.
If you wish to see more of Hodgins's work, you might want to read William Hodgins Interiors
by Stephen Salny. Although I have not read the book, it appears to be a monograph worth checking out.In the City:
...and in the country:
