Designer Retrospective: Thad Hayes

“This particular image is the dining room from an upstate New York family compound. I like this room because it is more formal than I would have typically done. My client requested formality and asked artist Stephen Hannock to collaborate on the project. It feels great in the evening with this grand sweeping Hudson Valley view surrounding you during a candle light dinner.”

For the formal dining room, artist Stephen Hannock painted Tuscany on the Hudson, a scenic mural on canvas, in the style of the Hudson River School. (June 1998)




“I have worked on many projects with Evelyn Leonard Lauder but this one in Palm Beach was the most rewarding. This room shows the meticulous restoration involved in bringing the house into the 21st century. I created two seating areas in the large formal living room which functions nicely for large family get-togethers.”

Oriental elements decorate the living room. (November 2000)




“At the time I designed this apartment it was the most “Modern” project I had done. I particularly like this view with the monumental rosewood sliding door separating the master bedroom from the study/sitting room. The space is serene and simple but maintains inviting warmth with the use of wood incorporated into the custom furniture.”

Hayes transformed a small Manhattan apartment into a master suite for an adjacent unit. Oversize doors connect the master bedroom to a sitting room. The untitled 1985 photograph is by Adam Fuss. (February 2000)



“This 1920s home in Austin, Texas, was about neutrality, owning to the client’s different views on color or lack of color and keeping the interiors visually cool. Every time I visited the job site it was hot and humid, and being from Louisiana I knew just how to create a cool-feeling bedroom. After the room was almost complete we found the pair of Fornasetti painted panels which fit in beautifully and completed the room.”

The master bedroom of an Austin house, which features a pair of circa 1950 Piero Fornasetti landscape panels. Flanking the teak bed, which was designed by Hayes, are circa 1940s French lamps. (July 2001)





“It was a pleasure to be handed over a spacious room off the master bedroom and create a bath, closet and dressing room for the wife of this duo; he got a smaller dressing room across the hall. Originally, I drew a fireplace in the location of the vanity hoping that those few weeks of cooler weather in winter would somehow grant permission for that notion but it didn’t fly. They loved the idea but ultimately she said it would not be used. In its place I created a vanity that stretches from wall to wall and then designed an oversized mirror to give scale and importance to that elevation. It is a wonderful open room that is both functional and glamorous.”

The master bath of an Austin house. Russel Wright lamps and a 1999 painting by Fuss rest on the vanity. (July 2001)





“This was the first project I did for myself that was actually designed and thought out as opposed to just going out shopping to fill the need for a particular piece of furniture that was required. I had so much hesitation around it initially, but soon enough started enjoying the process. I like this simple meditative and spare view of my living room. This is a great mix-use area, not only for talking but watching television and eating and drawing at the large center table, which measures 5 feet square. The center/coffee table is 24 inches high but it works perfectly because of the lower seat height of the upholstered chairs.”

Hayes’ own living room in a 1830s town house in Greenwich Village. Naga Antiques Chinese scholars’ rocks. (September 2003)





“I love this cypress paneled living room. It was so warm and perfect—all I had to do was design a few pieces of furniture for it. The off-white linen fabric on the sofas and the linen rug contrast nicely with the dark floors and rich cypress on the walls. The room—even with the paneling—always feels fresh and crisp.”

Hayes revived a 1964 house in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for a yoga instructor. (March 2004)





“I have done multiple projects for this family—ranging from two New York City apartments to a Victorian in Telluride and this family compound in the Hamptons. This family home located on a large tract of land dates back to the early part of the 20th century. The wife had requested a blue and white scheme for the house because she felt it was cool, fresh and appropriate for the beach. I gave her the blue and white but added my touch in the black/brown stained furniture, which gives weight and prevents the interiors from looking too precious.”

A family’s 100-year-old Shingle Style summer house in the Hamptons was restored and expanded by New York architect Alan Wanzenberg. For the light-filled space, Hayes mixed a circa 1860 French ebonized cupboard—filled with 19th-century milk pitchers—with his own version of bobbin-turned chairs and a Chinese-style low table. (January 2005)




“This is a great view showing that one gesture—like making openings along the window wall, enfilade—creates a more open space in small apartments. It affords more light and air and creates a sense of openness and lightness.”

For a Manhattan apartment, Hayes visually expanded the living/dining room, which now leads to the lounge, the study and the bedroom. (February 2006)






“This sweeping view shows the main living space composed of a sitting area and dining area. This house was about being clean, serene and warm. The drama is in the ceiling height, the floating roof above and the amazing meadow and river beyond, which is ever changing. All of the gestures I made are in direct response to that idea.”

Hayes collaborated with Thompson, Makris and Reed, a landscape architect, from the outset. Window walls spanning the living and dining areas emphasize views of the meadow and the tidal river beyond. Milton Avery’s White Wave rests on a console. The Japanese screen is circa 1850. (June 2007)





“This is a grand ‘lodge’ like room that my clients wanted for movie screenings and winter happenings. This “Field House” is a lovely five-minute walk from the main house, which is located in upstate New York. The emphasis here was comfort, warmth and casualness.”

A field house in upstate New York was imagined, in a collaborative effort, by Hayes, architect Paul F. Shurtleff and landscape architect Douglas Reed. The building is clad in cedar siding. Large doors, which slide open to reveal the media room, continue the farmstead theme (June 2008)