Eliana Johnson #11- Rise of The Decorator/ History of Women in Interior Design
- Rise of the decorator
- 1925 was the world fair in paris
- functionalists and decorators were the main contributors
- Elsie de Wolfe
- Restored Victorian interiors into light and bright spaces using French furniture
- Professional woman who helped interior design became a separate entity from architecture
- She opened the way for women to enter the interior design profession
- Characteristics and style
- she 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 included daylighting and a variety of lighting fixtures
- fresh color were used in fabric, rugs, and furniture
- a lot of white
- exotic animal prints were used for upholstery
- there was a generous use of mirrors to expand lighting
She hated:- dark heavy wood on flooring and walls
- heavy velvet window treatment that blocked incoming light
- heavily patterned wall paper
- ornate fireplaces
- limited color choices
- Dorthey Draper
- relied on social connections due to no formal education in interior design
- used traditional furniture in untraditional ways
- created Americas first design firm
- Characteristics and styles
- know 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 combinations
- influential projects
- the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur springs
- New York city's Hampshire house
- the dining area in the metropolitan
museum of art - Modern applications
- Laura Day
- Worked on the laura day design in SOHO
- TLC's Trading spaces
- home depots table for DIFFA's dining by design
- enjoys flipping houses with a classic traditional style
- One Step Further
Zaha Hadid was a pioneering architect known for her radical, deconstructivism designs featuring sweeping curves and futuristic aesthetics. As the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, she earned the title "Queen of the Curve." Her most iconic projects include the Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan, Guangzhou Opera House in China, London Aquatics Centre, Vitra Fire Station in Germany, and Galaxy Soho in Beijing. Her work redefined architectural boundaries with bold, dynamic forms.
Elie this post is great! you outlined things very well and gave photos to help us understand the stye of each designer. I also love that you did your one step further on Zaha Hadid. She has such and interesting style!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you broke down each designer into different aspects about them. I wish you would have added a few more modern applications, but overall well done. Zaha Hadid was truly the queen of curves, her fame and respect was well earned.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Elie! It’s fascinating how the rise of the decorator, especially through figures like Elsie de Wolfe and Dorothy Draper, helped shape interior design into its own profession by emphasizing personality, practicality, and bold aesthetics.
ReplyDeleteEliana,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the designers you covered this week. You only covered about half of the designers we looked at though. I felt you could have covered Billy Baldwin and some of the other influential female designers we studied this week. Your entries are very similar to Bethany's. I hope you are doing your own work. Zaha Hadid was a great architect to look at in a deeper manner. 45/50 points