India Hicks has style in spades.

She's a model, a mother, a businesswoman and a writer. She's also a bit of a legacy: Hicks is the daughter of interior decorator David Hicks and Lady Pamela Hicks.

She's no newcomer to the design world. She and partner David Flint Wood built two plantation-style guest houses and renovated an 1800s restaurant and hotel in the Bahamas, where they live. They followed with interior design books, Island Life: Inspirational Living and a sequel, Island Beauty.

Asked to pick her must-haves for fall, Hicks is mindful of price. She predicts that design will become more democratic, with better mass market choices, such as those found at Target and Ikea.

"I think the highest end will need to go completely over the top to justify the expense," she says in an e-mail. "The middle consumer will simply be spending money on higher food and fuel costs and naturally gravitate to Target."

With that in mind, Hicks chose these must-haves for fall (including a few from her own family):

* Anything lacquered: Hicks thinks the influence of India and China will be felt in the home. She's particularly fond of Jonathan Adler's large, lacquered orange tray. "I prefer the more modern take on this than the purely traditional," she says.

* Bright colours: Bright, happy colours are just the thing for an economic downturn, spelling an "end to the tyranny of beige good taste," Hicks says.

She suggests bold paint palettes such as Mandarine from The Little Greene Paint Co. or the Hippie Beads print from the David Hicks by Ashley Hicks line from Groundworks/Lee Jofa.

* Cheap-chic: For her Island Night diffuser made with Crabtree & Evelyn, Hicks says she took care to make something tasteful but affordable.

"The amethyst-coloured glass diffuser, etched with a coral design, holds the black reeds, and the air is infused with the scent of an island evening under the stars," she says.

* Day: "This company's clothes and interior objects will become right on trend as the details in their designs give you a highly personal touch and style at an accessible price range," she says.

* Getting practical: Hicks will be looking for design that is equal parts form and function, such as the Marais high stool from Design Within Reach. "Reportedly used by the French navy, (it) would sit comfortably in any kitchen today."