Dorothy Draper, History's First True Interior Designer

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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.

http://www.jeanettefisher.com/dorothy_draper.htm

History of interior design

There is a long history of interior design that first started around the time of Tutankhamen’s tomb being found, it was after the finding of all the basic every day items that the Egyptians had decorated that the British started to take an interest in the designing and accessorising of their homes and basic house hold items such as bowls. Since then on the design of buildings and interiors has reflected who holds most power in the country at that time for example during the 12th Century the church held a lot of Europe’s power so there fore designers had to be very careful with their designs making sure they were not related to treason or suspicious in any way as they could be executed at the decision of the church. Some of the different eras that have affected the world of interior design greatly over the years are:

Romans

This was a time when people were most interested in living as comfortably as possible and also showing how wealthy they were through their homes and life styles. Many wealthy people’s homes and public places where wealthy people would frequent (banqueting halls for example) were decorated lavishly with the walls covered in murals and the floors with mosaic designs. They tended to have their furniture custom built to suit their needs exactly, classic Roman furniture such as tables and chairs would usually have the clawed feet and also the soft furnishings would be as rich in quality as the furniture and decoration on the walls and floors with them having trims and being made of expensive materials.


Monastic

This was the period after the Roman Empire had fallen and the church gained most power because the church didn’t believe in the craftsmen’s right to express their selves through their work the grand buildings with columns and all the interior work that had been created was replaced by the sober wood panelling that showed very little personal expression. This showed the great influence that the church had during this period through out the whole of Europe.


Renaissance


This was the time just after the fall of the church and with renaissance being the French for rebirth it was not only a rebirth for the freedom of Europe but also within the arts and design. This is when the French began to have a great influence on interior design and art was once again incorporated with interior design with very elegant and detailed designs being created.


http://www.interiordesignersregister.com/history.php

Naturally Green

Decorating your home can be a bit of a challenge and it can be quite expensive. At the moment many furniture shops offers you help to find your perfect design. Unfortunately that can be quite expensive so why not do it your self? It’s not that hard as you think its good fun plus it can save you some money. I would like to convince you to create your own design but not just any design. I’m determent to encourage you to take on eco friendly project by using found objects as well as organic materials. I will present a wide range of ideas so you can choose the one for you.

image from Style Estate Blog