Elsie de Wolfe referred to herself as a “rebel in an ugly world.” During Elsie’s heyday from 1926 to her death in 1950, the rest of the world just called her Lady Mendl.

In 1913, Elsie wrote what may have been the one of the first great books on interior design, The House in Good Taste. She became well known in New York, Paris, and London, and was believed by some to be the person who first invented the profession of interior design. Whether or not that’s the case, Elsie de Wolfe could include some very influential people among her clientele, such as Ann Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Windsor, and Adelaide Frick.

Elsie’s decorating style often featured light, fresh colors, and she was responsible for brightening the interiors of some of the most impressive Victorian homes of her era. She was NOT a fan of the dark nature of traditional Victorian d

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The actual profession of interior designer is credited to a woman named Dorothy Draper, who was commissioned to decorate all thirty-seven floors of the Hampshire House hotel in 1937 Manhattan. Even though renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright called her an “inferior desecrator,” Ms. Draper had decorated scores of offices, restaurants, hospitals, and even a car for Packard (in 1952) and an airplane interior for Convair (the 880) before she died in 1969.

Ms. Draper also left a legacy through a number of books, as well, including a string of books on entertaining etiquette, some of which have recently been reprinted to help modern socialites entertain guests and be the life of their parties. In a way, Dorothy Draper was the Martha Stewart of her day, offering tips on a wide variety of issues to her eager readers.

Although Dorothy Draper is no longer a household name, she had an enormous effect on American interior design ideas in her day, and though she had her detractors (like Frank Lloyd Wright and others), there’s no denying that she was the one who made the profession of interior designer possible for all those who came after her.

Much of Ms. Draper’s work hasn’t survived to the current day, but you can still see some of Ms. Draper’s work in various places around the country. For instance, there are still Dorothy Draper chandeliers hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. For a less prosaic look into Ms. Draper’s influence, just look for the blue-and-orange facades of the many Howard Johnson restaurants that still dot the countryside from coast to coast. Their color scheme was first suggested by Dorothy Draper.

The science of interior design has come a long way over the past seventy years. Today, it’s a multimillion dollar industry, and incorporates aspects of environmental psychology, and architecture, as well as product and furniture design to create spaces that work well and are esthetically pleasing to their owners.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

America’s “Dream Home” Maker Jeanette Fisher, author of best-selling real estate investing and interior design books, has researched the effects of the environment on emotions for over 15 years. She is the author of over ten books, including university textbooks, and encyclopedia articles on color psychology. For more information on interior design psychology, free ebooks and newsletters, visit http://www.designpsych.com

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