The Women Who Professionalized Interior Design

The Women Who Professionalized Interior Design explores the history of interior decorating and design from the late nineteenth century to the present, highlighting the careers and contributions of significant American female interior designers who were instrumental in the creation of the field of residential and commercial interior design in the United States.

This book explores how interior design emerged as a distinct, paying occupation in the nineteenth century thanks to a growing middle class and an increase in available cheap household goods following the Industrial Revolution. Focusing primarily on the period from 1905 to 1960, it addresses the complex relationships among professionals in the design fields, the social dynamics of designer-client relationships, and how class, culture, and family influenced their lives and careers. The book emphasizes significant female interior decorators and writers on design including Candace Wheeler, Elsie de Wolfe, Edith Wharton, Nancy McClelland, Ruby Ross Wood, Dorothy Draper, Eleanor McMillen Brown, and Sister Parish, all of whom are underrepresented in the historical record, relating their stories within the context of the history of design and architecture.

This book is an ideal and concise resource for students and faculty of interior design and women's history.

Introduction. 1. Architects, Furniture Salesmen, and Upholsterers: The Origins of Interior Design (1700s-1860s) 2. The Feminization of Interior Decoration (1840s-1910s) 3. Reforming Victorian Chaos (1860s-1910s) 4. The High Society "Lady" decorators (1900s-1950s) 5. Turf, Taste, and Gender: Fraught Relationships among Interior Decorators, Designers, and Architects (1840s-1980s) 6. "Decorators may be Compared to Doctors:" The Professionalization of Interior Design and the Female Interior Designer (1870s-2000s)