Robin & Lucienne Day: Design and the Modern Interior

The late Robin and Lucienne Day need very little introduction. As a legendary British design couple, their work has been documented, celebrated and mimicked many times over. (Main image of Robin & Lucienne Day ©Copyright Design Museum)

With mid-century  furniture  design possibly reaching antiquity, the demand for sleek, modernist and naturally hued chairs, sideboards and coffee tables is high.

The Days’ living room ©Copyright Design Museum

Vintage G-Plan (notably their popular nested and circular teak with glass  coffee table  sets), and anything with the Eames name tag can command high prices, with furniture design by Robin Day quickly following their American counterparts lead in the demand stakes.

Pallant House Gallery ©Copyright PDD

The Pallant House Gallery in Chichester (the hometown of the Days’) see the national importance of the Days’ design aesthetic, and have acquired the collection owned by H. Kirk Brown III and Jill A. Wiltse from Denver, USA, putting together a creatively curated and compact, yet dense exhibition with the help of Shannah Shelby.

Robin & Lucienne Day: Design and the Modern Interior ©Copyright PDD

The Days’ work grew and developed into semi-affordable mass-market designs through their inherent love for creating. They bounced ideas off each other, both being each other’s greatest influencer.

Flock of Seagulls wallpaper print by Lucienne Day, second left ©Copyright PDD

Lucienne’s work as a textile designer was most definitely a reflection of the time, bringing abstract shapes and patterns into the home. Our favourite was the teal bird print textile, which mimicked a flock of mesmerising seagulls, tracking their individual journeys with spindly lines. Her textile design and Robin’s furniture design worked in tandem wholly, perfectly accenting each other.

Robin Day sofa suite ©Copyright PDD

Polypropylene Stackable Chairs by Robin Day ©Copyright PDD

Of course, on display were a pile of Robin Day’s nostalgic, yet infamous polypropylene stackable chairs, a design icon that sparks memories of school gymnasiums and community halls across the country.

The Robin and Lucienne Day exhibition takes place at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, and will be running up until the 26^th June. For more information please go here.