

Piccadilly Designs
"The Interior Designer for the Rich & Famous"
By Kellie Speed
When you have garnered the reputation as “the interior designer to the rich and famous,” as dubbed
by Robin Leach, you know you have truly made it. at’s exactly how Ron Dayan is regarded in circles
around not only the celebrity clientele of Beverly Hills but the entire world. As owner of Piccadilly
Designs, Dayan’s interior design capabilities span from residential, commercial, hotels and resorts, to
yachts and jet Plane interiors.
I provide the interior design and decorating to suit the house,”he said. “I have a responsibility to my
clients because I am working on their most expensive possession but I do it in a responsible manner
while maintaining the integrity of the house. I take a revolutionary approach coming from the new
economy. I design for the property not the homeowners. The property needs to complement itself.
The majority of my properties sell as they are because the buyers come in and say this just makes
sense. A designer should always take a more conservative approach than the client. There is more
work involved with planning, pricing and negotiating of costs with vendors so it is important not to get
carried away.”

Photos Courtesy of Picadilly Designs





















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Educated in Europe, Dayan has traveled extensively around the globe as a former flight
attendant later relocating to California to design television shows and commercials. Today, he
has been responsible for the design and decorating of many homes ranging from 4,000 to
40,000 square feet. Some of his clients have included such noted celebrities as Motown
musician Smokey Robinson, Los Angeles Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Barry Gibb from the
Bee Gees, Academy award winner Louis Gossett Jr., Guns N’Roses bass player Duff McKagen,
and former vice-president of Apple Computers, John Couch.
“I am influenced by everything around me,” Dayan said. “One can look at a light post in Beverly
Hills and be inspired. I could be driving on the highway and see the support of an office building
and be inspired by the classic architecture. I am very keen to being like a surgeon shaping the
home first before becoming a makeup artist. I think and create and find solutions so I am a
designer first and a decorator second. When I watch films, I really look at the background so the
background to me becomes the foreground. Looking at what is behind the actors has helped
me. I have also traveled to over 35 countries, including the Middle East, Europe and West
Africa.”Dayan is also known for taking a “Sherlock Holmes”approach to interior design. “Here are
clues missing from the scene that have to be deducted from what must have happened,” he
said. “I employ this method of thinking in my work and it starts with carefully listening to the
owners while touring the property without rushing to conclusions, recording their reaction to my
portfolio in my mind and paying special attention to specific comments concerning my work they
make while reviewing it. When I meet with a client, I look at the clips from magazines that they
show me and their notebooks. I look at what pictures they are smiling at and which they frown at.
I add in a timetable, budget and make it a science. It’s also important not to overdesign for an
area. Interior design and real estate go hand in hand very closely.”


What should one look for when working with an interior designer? “Hiring an interior designer is
like a short-term marriage,” he said. “If you are not comfortable with the person, no matter how
talented the designer, it’s not going to work. When they encounter certain challenges, it could all
blow apart. I don’t forget where I came from. Interior design is the business of service. I must
have X-Ray vision to provide for my client’s present and future needs. I don’t have a personal
style. My favorite style is what I am working on at the present. When I move onto another project,
that’s my favorite style. I pride myself in having that flexibility. I can go from 17th century England
to stainless steel and everything in between.”
Dayan believes the secret to his success is his personality and talent. “The first thing is that
people should feel compatible with me,”he said. “I think they feel comfortable with me that I am
competent, creative, open, and can interpret their ideas. I think when you are able to not see
one’s own agenda and see it from another person’s point of view that’s when one is going to be
in high demand. It’s also a mixture of personality and my global upbringing. I can meet a person
from Zaire or Manchester and relate to them in a five minute period because I have been to both
locations. One has to be global because it makes it easier to communicate with people. The day
I stop learning is the day I hand in the key and head for the exit.”
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