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The Great Lady Decorators: The Women Who Defined Interior Design, 1870-1955 |  | Author: Adam Lewis
Creators: Jeremiah Goodman, Bunny Williams
Publisher: Rizzoli
Category: Book
List Price: $65.00
Buy New: $38.84
as of 7/30/2010 03:37 CDT details
You Save: $26.16 (40%)
New (35) Used (9) from $38.84
Seller: sbd-
Rating:  4 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.4
Dimensions (in): 12.2 x 9.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0847833364
Dewey Decimal Number: 729
EAN: 9780847833368
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Mixing gorgeous interiors with sparkling social history, this is the first book on the visionary women whose work gave us the timeless, essential principles of modern interior decorating.
In 1904, Elsie de Wolfe was given a contract to design the interiors of the Colony Club. Their success launched de Wolfe’s career and the entire field of professional interior decoration. Soon other women followed, known collectively (for their privileged backgrounds) as the Lady Decorators. This book focuses on the extraordinary, glamorous interiors of these influential designers, as well as their decorating theory and maxims, from Rose Cumming’s electric color combinations ("Parrots are blue and green. Why shouldn’t fabric be?") to Nancy Lancaster’s refined English-country-house look ("She liked for the sun to get to . . . materials. She wanted them to go shabby and live a life of their own."). A witty and readable treatise on the principles of decorating, as well as a luxurious visual resource, this book will be an essential addition to every decorating library. Also including: Dorothy Draper, Elsie Cobb Wilson, Ruby Ross Wood, Frances Elkins, Eleanor Brown, Sister Parish, Syrie Maugham, Madeleine Castaing.
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| Customer Reviews:
The Great Lady Decorators: The Women Who Defined Interior Design, 1870-1955 July 11, 2010
House Doctor (Beautiful South)
A very nice group of biographies that allows the reader understand to the evolution of Interior Design. It gives the reader insight as to how today's look is built on previous trends and ideas.
Leading Ladies of Interior Design July 18, 2010
L. M. Keefer (Connecticut)
If you love interior design, this is a comprehensive and engaging overview of the legendary women decorators who pioneered the decorating field. In this luxurious and picture-filled book, author Adam Lewis has distilled the essence of the lives and innovative work of the leading ladies of interior design. In chapters which read like rich mini-biographies, Lewis describes the personal and cultural currents which drove the decisions and actions of the first women design entrepreneurs who birthed the interior design world. You see similarities which united them, but also creative divergences based on their personalities and life experiences.
You can't help but fall in love with this lively assortment of ladies, as Lewis affectionately sketches them deftly depicting their strengths and eccentricities. It's intriguing to see their personal evolution as designers over time within the development of the greater design world. The books offers a combination micro and macro perspective as they influence, and are influenced by, the design universe. You get to feast on their words and learn from their original design philosophies and admonitions regarding interior decoration. One can imagine a play--Lewis??--in which they all come to dinner and have a spirited discussion regarding their diverse design tenets. There might even be some throwing of dishes by a few when they disagree. The wardrobe alone would be worth the price of admission.
As Albert Hadley succinctly said, design is an expression of personality. The author first captures the diverse and colorful personalities of these design legends through his very readable words, and then you get to see how their personalities are played out and displayed in photos from Dorothy Draper's color and theatricality, to Frances Elkins' classicism and touch of modernity, to Rose Cummings' and Madame Castaing's romanticism, to Sister Parish's warmth, charm and whimsy.
Designer Bunny Williams wrote in one of her books that she takes pencil and paper with her when she visits rooms around the world to sketch interesting furniture arrangements. I enjoyed seeing the room arrangements pictured in this book as well as viewing the world class furnishings of chairs, tables, desks, chaises etc....It's said that taste is about exposure, and the rooms featured in this book are a great collection under one cover to train your eye regarding what the early taste-makers thought was beautiful, suitable and stylish. You also learn about the discipleship and apprenticeship of the designers who worked with them and who are still working today.
The book is interestingly a kind of social history as you see how these creative women responded individually and idiosyncratically to world events of their day from the World Wars to the Great Depression to the birth of the affluent modern world. It is an indispensable resource to have in every design library. Based on the heart-warming experience reading this book, I look forward to Lewis's and Albert Hadley's collaborative new book on Billy Baldwin coming out fall 2010, and now want to read his previous books. Lewis writes with insight, knowledge and passion about his design subjects in an informative and entertaining style that delights. This book is a treat for the eyes, mind and heart.
Glimpse of an elegant past April 26, 2010
K. Ray
8 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is eye candy. It is an antidote for those of us who, as my Granny used to say, "think the best they can say about a space is that it looks like a hotel room."
 A pleasant read! July 24, 2010
Celia Tulloch (Seoul, S. Korea)
Mr. Lewis has done a commendable job in researching and presenting information about the pioneers in the field of interior design. I had not heard about many of these ladies before, so it was quite enlightening to learn about them and how they ended up in trade. Since some of the ladies featured were unfamiliar, it would have been nice to see images of them in the text, but I suppose that perhaps Mr. Lewis was unable to obtain their photos. There were a few typos in the book and the font size was a bit small for my tastes, but overall, I believe that the content of this treatise makes it a worthwhile read of those who are interested in interior design and decorating.
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