Rise of the Decorators

 Rise of the Decorators

It started in 1925 at the World's Fair in Paris, and the two main contributors fell into two categories: Functionalists and Decorators. 

The decorators, also called Ensemblier, are the ones who create an ensemble, with in mind seeing if they work well together for the aesthetic that they are looking for.

The functionalists focus more on function, form, and theory and don't consider adding more accessories or furniture to their interiors.

Interior decorators started to come out in the early 1900s. Before they were out, architects would hire many different craftsmen to help them complete the interiors of their homes or buildings, and you can only imagine how much money needed to be spent on employing every individual to complete the task. 

There were three influencing designers during this era: Elsie De Wolfe, Dorothy Draper, and Billy Baldwin. Each of their works is a part of how interior designers work today. Dorothy Draper had no formal training in becoming an Interior decorator like the other interior decorators, but what she brought to the field was using traditional furniture in a non-traditional way. Her style was fun and appealing, and she wrote a column on the cover of Time and Life magazine. She was the first in America to create a design firm that still stands today.

Dorothy Work

Greenbrier Hotel

 Another influential interior designer, Billy Baldwin, studied briefly at Princeton, like Dorothy Draper, but had no formal design training. He worked for the middle class and had many famous clients, but what made him different from the other interior designers was that he worked with a restricted color scheme. He disliked florid, baroque, and rococo; he liked clean-cut, hard-edged, and pared-down. His style was an American style that was neat, tidy, and snappy.

Billy Baldwin work

The slipper chair by Billy Baldwin

modern version of the slipper chair

Billy Baldwin X benches

modern X benches

One Step Further 

Elsie De Wolfe

Elise De Wolfe was born in 1865 and died in 1950. She went to study in New York and Edinburgh. She works as an actress and Interior decorator. She started out as an actress, but later on in her life, she started to pursue work as an interior decorator. She wanted to restore Victorian interiors while also using French furniture to bring out something new with the old, and she also published " The House of good taste".