Growing up one of six siblings in an old-fashioned Kensington townhouse in London, Fran Hickman says she learned early on “the importance of well-made personal space.” But it wasn’t until she moved to New York to go to Parsons (after graduating from the London College of Communications) that she discovered the allure of good design. In those days, she and her friends would often gather at the then recently opened Soho House in the Meatpacking District. “It was like our private living room,” she says. “It was then I understood the power of a well-designed space to influence behavior.”
A decade later, in 2014, she founded Fran Hickman Design & Interiors in London. Among her first projects was the career-making Chess Club restaurant and bar in the city’s Mayfair neighborhood. Spanning three floors of a six-story townhouse, the design combines organic and geometric shapes found in Japanese prints. Her latest, Locket’s in St James’s, London, continues that thoughtful approach. Found in a 14-story tower block first built in 1964, the all-day café and wine bar’s interior is influenced by the building’s Brutalist style, with a copper, cork, and green-veined marble palette complementing autumnal hues.
“[When designing], I look at the building and its history and location. I get a feel for its bones,” Hickman says. “It’s a bit like having the parts of a machine and you have to make it work.”
Locket’s features a material palette of copper, cork, and green-veined marble
The all-day café and wine bar Locket’s is situated in a 14-story tower block first built in 1964
This article originally appeared in HD’s February 2020 issue.
