Week 11- Rise of The Decorator/ History of Women in Interior Design- Art Deco and Industrial Design

Chapter 22

Art Deco and the Rise of the Interior Decorator

Elsie de Wolfe (1865-1950)

Educated in New York and Edinburgh

American –Actress and Interior Decorator

•        Actress who pursued interior decorating

•        Restored Victorian interiors into light and bright spaces using French furniture

•        Professional woman who helped interior design become a separate entity from architecture

•        Published “The House of good taste” 1913

•        Opened the way for women to enter the interior design profession

Characteristics and Style:

•        Elsie rebelled against the traditional Victorian Era home interior style

•        She proposed that the residential home should reflect the woman of the home’s personality

•        Her design style was promoted as a “blueprint” of modern residential design

•        Practicality, Comfort, Beauty and Quality Lighting were her core values

Methods and Materials:

•        Use of quality lighting including daylighting and a variety of lighting fixtures

•        Fresh colors that would be used in fabric, rugs, and furniture

•        White walls and white painted furniture

•        Exotic animal prints on upholstery

•        Small scale 18^th century French furniture

•        Interiors were inspired by the garden

•        Use of Chintz fabric

•        Generous use of mirrors to expand lighting

Characteristics of the the late 1980’s Victorian design style she despised:

•        Dark heavy wood use on flooring and walls

•        Heavy velvet window treatments that blocked incoming light

•        Heavily patterned wallpaper

•        Ornate Fireplaces

•        Limited color choices

Dorothy Draper (1889-1969)

American- Interior Decorator

Education: No formal training

•        Relied on social connections

•        Traditional furniture used in non-traditional ways

•        Style was fun and appealing

•        Writer of a syndicated news column

•        On the cover of Time and Life magazine

•        Created America’s first design firm (still in existence)

Characteristics and Style:

•        Known for dramatic use of black and white on walls, flooring and upholstered pieces

•        Modern Baroque

•        Clear vivid colors

Methods and Materials:

•        Focus on large public spaces

•        Stripes mixed with chintz fabric

•        Vibrant flashy colors

•        Bold plastered moldings

•        Dull white and shiny black floor combination

Influential Projects:

•         The Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

•        New York City’s Hampshire House

•        The dining area in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

•        The lobby of the Carlyle

•        The Camilla Restaurant in the Drake Hotel in Chicago

 

 

Billy Baldwin (1903- 1983)

Education: A brief study at Princeton- no formal design training

•        Design for the middle class as well as many famous clients

•        Worked with a restricted color scheme

•        He disdained the florid, baroque and rococo in favor of the clean-cut, hard-edged and pared-down

•        Nothing is interesting unless it is personal – Billy Baldwin

Characteristics and Style:

•        An American style that was neat, tidy and snappy

•        Eclectic design style and process that supported clients using furniture and accessories they already owned and mix new items with the old

•        Comfort was a primary focus

Methods and Materials:

•        cotton fabric

•        plain draperies

•        brown color

•         off-white and plaid rugs

•        lacquer finish

•        geometrics

•        dark walls

•        straw, rattan and bamboo

 

Women in Interior Design

Francis Elkins- 1988-1953

Education: No formal education- accompanied her brother throughout Europe meeting famous architects and designers

•        One of the 20^th century most influential female designers

•        Sister of David Adler- architect

•        Collaborated with her brother on 15 homes in California

Methods and materials:

•        Color Palette of blue, yellow and white

•        Focused on the color palette as a driver of unity and contrast within an interior

•        Appreciated the use of pattern

Influential projects:

•        Yerba Buena Club at Golden Gate International Exposition

•        Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay (1939 fair)

•        Historic Abode Casa Amesti in Monterey, California

•        Cypress Point Club Clubhouse (1930)

•        The Zellerbach mansion in Broadway

 

Petra Blaisse 1955-
British Designer

Education: Art School in London and in Groningen

•        Specialized in Interior Design, Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Textiles

•        Worked as a curator at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

•        Started her own firm: Inside Outside in 1991

•        Collaborated with famous architects: Rem Koolhaas, Irma Boom and SANAA

Methods and Materials:

•        Creating a fluid transition between the interior and exterior

•        High Tech and fashion based fabrics and materials

•        Large scale curtains and screens

•        Petra Blaisse Interview

Famous Works:

•        Inside Outside, Amsterdam (1991)

•        Golden Theatre Curtain for the Nederlands Dans Theater

•        Vast curtains and poured floors for Lille Grand Palais, France

•        Spiraling "sound curtain" for the Kunsthal, Rotterdam

•        Museumpark, Rotterdam (1992)

 

Clodagh c. 1950

American designer from Ireland

Education: No formal training

•        Specializes in design that makes use of natural materials and Biophilic Design principles

•        Uses Feng Shui principles to achieve a tranquil setting

Methods and Materials:

•        Feng Shui principles that examine the flow of energy through a interior space

•        Use of natural materials and respectful approach to nature and the environment. Pioneer of “Green Design”.

•        Focused on the impact of design on the well being of a person

Famous Works:

•        W Fort Lauderdale Hotel and Residences

•        Miraval Life-in-Balance spa resort, Arizona

•        White Horses Spa at Doonbeg, Ireland

•        Tufenkian Heritage Hotels, Armenia

•        Landmarc Restaurant in NY's Time Warner Center

•        Nemacolin Woodlands

 

Laura Day 1972

Education: New York school of Design

Star of TLC- Trading Spaces

Residential Designer in New York

Public Figure featured in: New York Magazine, Vogue, and Traditional Home.

Methods and Materials

•        Classic Traditional Style

•        Fresh

•        Flipping Houses

Famous Works

•        Laura Day Design in SOHO (1997)

•        TLC's Trading Spaces

•        Home Depot's table for DIFFAS'S Dining by Design

One Step further 

Clodagh 

"Clodagh grew up in the west of Ireland, in Moytura House, once the home of Oscar Wilde. At 17 she opened a couture fashion salon in Dublin that quickly led to licensing and consulting contracts with major department stores and international exports to the U.S. and as far afield as Australia."

"In the mid ’80s she moved to New York City, opened her design studio, and with two partners opened a small design store in the East Village. Clodagh Ross + Williams was a launching pad for young designers, and served as a laboratory for Clodagh’s own creations. Vogue described it as “the design store of the decade”.

She has since become a powerhouse in the design world, renowned as a pioneer in green design, focusing on the impact of design on the well being of the denizens of this planet. She is much in demand as a speaker on these core principles of her life’s work. She has always been a passionate advocate for sustainability. This responsibility is baked into the philosophy of the studio she leads—as is her understanding that the key to wellness is cradling the mind, body, and spirit of the individual with a warmth that extends to all the senses.

An incessant traveler, she has an avocation for “sleeping around,” trying out different hotels and bedrooms, figuring out what to do–and what not to do–and what travelers really need. She avers that everyone should be as pampered a guest in their own home as they are in a good hotel."

She is known for her innovative and multi-disciplinary work, encompassing hotels, spas, restaurants, retail stores, offices, and product design, with a focus on biophilia, wellness, and sustainability. And now owns her own design firm.

I love her Design style, she is very talented and has a unique style that we don't often see. I love her use of light fixtures and her dark, moody style. One thing I find interesting about her, along with many of the other people listed above, is that they are not formally educated in Interior design. I love this, it proves that you don't need education to be a designer, it just gives you a boost. I think that it is a testament to the hard work of these designers that they can be so successful without being formally educated on the subject.

Here is some of her work:

https://clodagh.com/about/clodagh/#:~:text=Clodagh%20grew%20up%20in%20the,as%20far%20afield%20as%20Australia.