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8/14/2019 Spaces Magazine, February, 2010, Thomas Britt
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/spaces-magazine-february-2010-thomas-britt 1/6
8/14/2019 Spaces Magazine, February, 2010, Thomas Britt
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/spaces-magazine-february-2010-thomas-britt 2/6
N BOTHPERSONALITYNDDESIGN
HISKANSAS ITYNATIVE REATES
HATARECOLORFULNDCLASSIC
ThomasBritt
TomBritt. Above, ight: Bold black-and-whiteloors
dmirrored alls reate dramatic ntry n hisPalmBeach
hat Brittdesignedor a Kansas i tycouple.
BY PATRICIASHACKELFORD
|rloking around n designhistory s a little like unraveling ve
Fpretty silk knot. Currentdesigners eference esignerswhhave nfluencedhem.So you know, followedhe trail. I boug
booksand wentonlineanddug among he proiects f DavidHick
andBillyBaldwin ndRoseCummings,t al.But n myresearc
wassurprisedo discoverhat several ationallyecognizedesig
ers are from KansasCity.Designers ho are intrinsicallyinke
to our city, thoughthey settledelsewhdre nd work worldwid
Designers ho do not mumble nto heirhands hat theyhail ro
the Midwest.We ust hought t mightbe time to give hema littl
hometown oopla.
8/14/2019 Spaces Magazine, February, 2010, Thomas Britt
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It was errific uck hat shortlyafter wasassignedhis series
Thomas rittwas n town.Britt s a Kansas itynative ow iving n
NewYork.He pops nto town on occasiono See riends nd catch
up on what'snew, houghmany hingsherestayquite he same.As
luckhas t, and as hingsoftengo in Kansas ity,Brittand havea
fewmutual riends.Would oumind?Doyo u hinkhewould? hate
to be a bother." owhichmy ovely nd stylish riendsaid, Well, 'd
be happyo ask."
Which s howTom Britt endedup in my iving oom on a crisp
autumnday.My iving oomwasnot exactlywhere hadenvisioned
our meeting. cozyspot, ikely ireside, aiter n crispwhiteapron
at he ready eemedmore ike t. Butwhenhecalled ndsaidhewas
willing o meet, nd inquired here, eshouted ack, Your ousel
I ' l lbe here n tenminutes!"
My house. n ten minutes. hema n
whogracedhe "best" istsof Architectural
Digest,nteriorDesign,House ' Gardenand House eautifulmagazineswould be
standing n my Brooksideiving oom
in ten minutes. looked round n near
despair. ot much coulddo now.Yet knewa man aised n Kans
Citywould ikely e polite.He would ikely e kind.He would ike
find s.omethingo compliment.Ultimately, nowinghe was from
Kansas ity, knew ewouldbe gracious. ewa sall hat.
STAnr rrHTALENT
If yo uar ewonderingf yo uhave unacrosshis engaging ou
I must ell you, f you have ou wouldknow t. Britt is both relaxe
andcommanding. ispresencendhisvoice ill a room.Hi svoic
a deep aspacquired nlyby many ears f smoking nddrinkin
longsince iven p, s distinctive ostly n hisability o project
Britt eminiscedondly f hi sgrowing p n Kansas ity.Hecoun
his motheras one of hi s earliestnfluences,Sh ewas ncredib
stylish,"emembers ritt.Stylish nd apparently onfidentn he
son's alents. n fact,Mrs.Brittallowe
her fifteen-year-old on to paint th
walls of a spare oo m blackan d thflqqrwhite, look ha t he continueso
usewithgreat plomb.
8/14/2019 Spaces Magazine, February, 2010, Thomas Britt
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8/14/2019 Spaces Magazine, February, 2010, Thomas Britt
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/spaces-magazine-february-2010-thomas-britt 5/6
elationof a source or customhand-painted
Chinese wallpaper found while knocking
around Chinawith a contemporary.
When I marvel at both his parents
indulgence nd support, he tel ls me of his
redecorating heir dining room when they
went away for Thanksgivingwhen he was
sixteen or seventeen.He transformed a
very radit ional oom by paintingeverything
white and instal l ing plaster columns and
bamboo shades."How'd hey take t?" I wondered.
"What?"
"The redecorating,when your mother
came home from her tr ip, how did she
8/14/2019 Spaces Magazine, February, 2010, Thomas Britt
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glit terat iof the day. But all th e while Tom Brit t was working.Brit t
graduated ro m Parsonsn 1959. e worked or designer oh nCerald
fo r f iveyearsbeforeopening his own firm. He had the opportunity
to visit with the late,great,Bil ly Baldwin,a designer e held n high
regard, nd se eDuquette's ome,Dawnridge,irst hand.
THePenpecrDtsx
Tom Britt has sucha largecatalogueof work, t would be difficult
to define his look. He often uses white upholstery,but not always
He often usesa dark wall color,but not always.He often showcases
a strong,patterned floor, but not always.He often incorporatescon-
temporaryart into hi s rooms but is equallycomfortablewith clas-
si c oils or architectural r ints.Certainly, is rooms always eflecta
strongsenseof classic esign, nd his roomswith neoclassicallair
are my favorites.There s no doubt that he is comfortable,cleverand
courageous ith color.His attention o detail s meticulous. or all
of these reasonsBrit t has attracted nternational l ients ike ormer
U.S.Ambassador o the Court of St. ames CharlesPricean d Mrs.
Price,Countan d Countessoh n Forgach, er Highnesshe Ra iMata
of laipuran d Mr. and Mrs.FrederickWoolworth.
An d me .At least or a few momentsas we sat n my livingroom
an d he told me the history of my curtain fabrican d complimented
th e glazeof the wall us tbeforehe suggested learing he mantel He
wa sall the things expected, racious, ntertaining,egendaryHo w
I wish I could haveseen hat dining room that he craftedwhen most
boysar e us t earning o drive. )
WEDDING INVITATIONS & SAVE THE DATES BY
\
o*,,. t to*
*Jr.?.J
+9-+J.b".*t'
Fooo 4 Ji"
^/
..-I
^/
AVAILABLE AT
3934 WEST 59TH ERRACE . PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KANSAS66208
9r3 .432.7 87
66 ] KA\S\S (]I 'I \ 'SPA(]I-]S