Inside interior designer David Hicks’ gallery-style living room

Over the past 25 years, Melbourne-based interior designer David Hicks has been creating slick luxury residential spaces where elegant modernism meets a contemporary Australian sensibility. At his South Yarra apartment, Hicks brings a playful charisma into his private world.

It’s pared-back yet warm, with oak parquetry flooring and Dior grey-painted walls that nod to Paris. Of all the corners of his home, Hicks’s tonal, gallery-style living room is particularly special. ‘It’s elegant and immersive, with an undercurrent of quiet glamour,” he says. “The artworks bring a bold presence while the furniture invites interaction, making the room both refined and liveable.”

The open-plan room integrates the kitchen, dining and lounge areas. Designed for both relaxation and socialising, it’s where Hicks spends time entertaining or unwinding on the daybed – a custom-designed piece made with dark-stained oak and nubuck from luxury Italian leather supplier Pavoni.

Treasured art works found on Hicks’s travels, like two bronze Buddha statues from Laos and Thailand respectively, along with a sandstone head from Afghanistan, take pride of place on a marble fireplace mantel. “Whenever I travel to Asia, I seek out artefacts not only as mementos of destinations I’ve visited but also as connections to places still on my list,” Hicks says.

The furniture is a roll call of design’s finest – from a French sofa reupholstered in mohair by Elliott Clarke (where Hicks relaxes with his dogs, Jett and Dash) to the cream wool Fritz Hansen Swan chair from Cult Design.

Much like his design approach, the living room is layered with emotive accents, sculptural works and tactile fabrics. There are bespoke pieces alongside items Hicks has acquired at auction or from vintage sellers. The coffee table’s selenite stone top sits atop a brutalist bronze base from luxury antique furniture seller 1st Dibs. There’s more vintage chic in the form of Plaster Torchere lamps by Serge Roche from a market in Saint-Ouen, France.

A sculpture by Australian American furniture designer and sculptor Clement Meadmore, acquired at auction, is a particular favourite. “I always wanted a [piece] by Clement Meadmore, so when this [Rune 1995] came up at auction, I seized the opportunity,” Hicks says. “It wasn’t until I got it home that I realised it was a one-of-a-kind piece, originally created by the artist for his sister, making it all the more special.”

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Small touches like this add personality and character to the space. A vintage Lalique vase on his coffee table was an unexpected find at a Parisian market. “Its spiked detailing was so rare that I purchased it on the spot.

“Rather than shipping it home, I decided to carry it with me, only to be stopped at airport security, where its weight nearly had it confiscated. Fortunately, I managed to talk my way around it and now it sits proudly in my living room.”