As we interior design students study the history of decorative arts, we've traveled through endless pages of beautiful pictures and museum sites that show the innovation of classical Greek to French Baroque and now American Federal interiors. I was researching designers for this weeks blog and I came across this picture of the writing room at The Greenbrier Hotel in W.Virginia
We are studying American federal and this beautiful Girandole mirror grabbed my attention immediately. I knew I better get to know Dorothy Draper a bit better!
So, Who is Dorothy Draper?
In 1886 Dorothy Tuckerman was born in Orange County, New York (Did you know the East Coast had one of those?)
Dorothy was born to a very affluent family in fact she was raised in the very first gated community in America.
Her Great Grandfather, Oliver Walcott, signed the Declaration of Independence. She also had famous cousins, Eleanor Roosevelt and fellow female designer Sister Parish.
Dorothy had very little education, however, she learned all she needed from her extensive travels to Europe.
Dorothy married a Doctor in 1912 and the glamorous life just continued. She began her career by decorating her own homes and then opened her own decorating business in the roaring 20's. Although Dorothy's marriage failed, her decorating career exploded. She desired more, she craved bigger and better projects for herself and she made it happen. She was commissioned to remodel the Carlyle Hotel lobby
Neoclassical, nothing too terribly bold but very beautiful. Just wait though, you ain't seen nothin' yet!
Dorothy became a household name for post war households when she started writing decorating advise columns for Good Housekeeping Magazine. This 6' tall boisterous woman was not just going to view the world, she was going to put her own stamp on it. Here comes printed chintz, big bold stripes and color combinations the nation had yet to see.
above s the Greenroom in L.A.
Wow, look at the bold colors and patterns and scale...Dorothy took scale to a whole new level in the playing field.
This is the Greenbrier Hotel and a classic Dorothy Draper design with signature black and white checkered floors, with pops of turquoise, greens and reds. This hotel was used as a military headquarters and hospital before Dorothy created this lavish lobby.
Can you imagine Dorothy Draper envisioning the massive stripes, questioning whether or not she should, then being confident enough in her design to give the green light...go ahead boys, stripes it is! Amazing. What about all the patterns? This is why Dorothy Draper was a diva. And peekaboo little pink sofa, I see you too back there.
This is Quitandinha Palace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/arts/design/18wing.html
This is the restaurant at the Metropolitan Museum in New York that was coined the "Dorotheum".
Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco
Her designs incorporated lots of classical and baroque elements on monumental scale. Media called her style Modern Baroque.
Who was Dorothy Draper? She was a pioneer of design and decoration, She is still today an inspiration to many designers that followed. It is evident in Kelly Wearstler's bold floor patterns and color layering, it's evident in Billy Baldwin's use of printed chintz and many other forward thinking designers. I can only dream that one day I too would be bold enough, innovative enough to design a project that would go into the history books.
