Dorothy Draper American interior designer Date of Birth: 22.11.1889 Country: USA

American Interior Designer

Dorothy Draper was an American interior designer who inspired generations of American housewives to improve their interiors with the publication of her book "Decorating is Fun!" in 1939. Draper's unique style was characterized by vibrant colors, bold patterns, lavish finishes, and exquisite furniture. She introduced black and white tiles, rococo curls, and baroque moldings into her designs. Draper believed in constantly looking forward and seeking new ideas and experiments in order to achieve success. She was born on November 22, 1889, into an aristocratic family residing in Tuxedo Park, a quiet and beautiful town in the southern part of New York State. Her great-grandfather, Oliver Wolcott, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Despite not receiving a formal education in design, Draper developed a refined taste from her surroundings and frequent travels to Europe. In 1912, she married Dr. George Draper and continued to live a life of luxury and opulence until their divorce in 1930. Her husband served as the personal physician to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Draper maintained a close relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt. Another influential interior designer, Sister Parish, was also Draper's relative. In 1918, Draper renovated her own home in a style that impressed her affluent and influential friends, leading to numerous requests for her services. In 1925, she opened her own company, the Architectural Clearing House. Her breakthrough came with the renovation of the Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue, followed by projects on Sutton Place, the Fairmont and Mark Hopkins Hotels in San Francisco, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hampshire House near Central Park, the Drake Hotel in Chicago, the Arrowhead Springs Hotel in Hollywood, and many others within and outside the United States. One of her most famous projects was the restoration of the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, which had been completely destroyed during the Civil War. Draper meticulously designed every detail, from matchboxes to staff uniforms, restoring the former luxury of the resort. In the early 1950s, Draper designed automobile interiors for the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation and the Packard Motor Car Company. She also created packaging designs for the cosmetics company Dorothy Gray and even developed her own fabric designs for her interiors. Draper is considered the founder of a new style in interior design known as modern or American Baroque, characterized by vibrant colors, bold prints, and elements of classical design. She revolutionized the field of interior decoration and influenced how we perceive our living spaces today. Her projects were not limited to residential interiors but also included hotels, restaurants, theaters, and luxury department stores. Her collections featured furniture and reproductions. Carleton Varney, the president of Dorothy Draper & Co. Inc., compared Draper's impact on interior design to Chanel's influence on the fashion world. Draper believed that beautiful and vibrant colors made people feel more alive and happy, which is why she loved using contrasting color schemes. Dorothy Draper passed away on March 11, 1969, but many of her works have been preserved and continue to inspire designers today.