This is not the first time the name William “Billy” Haines has
graced the Swank Lighting blog. As one of the founding and leading designers of the style Hollywood Regency (a style us at Swank Lighting not only love, but think is a perfect complement to our lamps) he helped define the movement and usher in a time of luxury and glamour in interiors. The first time we mentioned him we spoke about his interior design skills and talents, but we think it’s high-time we focus on his furniture design skills!
Haines’ furniture designs were as exorbitant and glamorous as his interiors, of which he did plenty of as a celebrity designer in Hollywood’s heydays. His interior design company worked for many years, and he was known for hallmarking many specific looks and details, among the most popular are things like using bamboo details, Chinoserie, Lucite, metallics, sumptuous textures and more.
Haines’ furniture designs were as exorbitant and glamorous as his interiors, of which he did plenty of as a celebrity designer in Hollywood’s heydays. His interior design company worked for many years, and he was known for hallmarking many specific looks and details, among the most popular are things like using bamboo details, Chinoserie, Lucite, metallics, sumptuous textures and more.
Like his interiors, his furniture often combined brilliantly masculine and feminine aspects; pieces having either a strong masculine size but maybe with feminine curves. Or, stark, lines wrapped in soft textures. Though his pieces were certainly of the new international, modern style, they also gave plenty of credit to current and past trends, with him interpreting historical styles and current styles like Art Deco in his own way. He also may have been one of the first designers to experiment with such bold colors in unexpected ways (well, probably not, but he sure did it with flourish!)
Haines’ life, like his style and interiors, was full of drama. After leaving home at a young age he made a brief but memorable splash in Hollywood. Refusing to back down and cover up who he really was, a gay man, he eventually got kicked out of Hollywood by movie studios. But, he made his impact in interior design, so it all worked out in the end. His brief stint in Hollywood afforded him an endless potential client list, and it’s possibly because of the Silver Screen that he was able to design such wonderful interior details that are still enjoyed today! 
