Elsie De Wolfe: One of the First Interior Designers in History
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Elsie de Wolfe is known for being a pioneer in the world of interior design. So what a perfect person to kick off our Placemakers column!
Elsie was born in New York City and grew up spending time in Scotland, England, and Paris. She was a success in New York’s amateur theatrical circles and began to pursue professional acting. Despite her performance and dedication to acting, she was always known for her wardrobe of couture pieces.
During her rising acting career, Elsie became friends with another weathly socialite, Elisabeth Marbury. The women shared a house where Elsie began infusing elements she saw in Europe- while ridding the house of the gloomy Victorian interiors.
By the early 1900s, de Wolfe had enjoyed redecorating so much, she became a professional. Her group of influential New York women opened the first women-exclusive club, the Colony Club, with de Wolfe heading up decoration. Immediately after the opening in 1907, she had established her design style of airy draperies, light colored walls and glazed chintz. Members of the club were mesmerized by her feminine take on an known masculine space, which led to many commissions around the nation.
Elsie continued to design more private clubs and homes, particularly on the East and West coasts. She built up her own brand as a decorator with offices and a showroom in New York City. She even expanded her portfolio to include college dormitories and opera boxes. This led to the publication of her most popular book, The House in Good Taste.
Image from The House in Good Taste
Henry Clay Frick - a wealthy art collector and monopoly man in the growing steel and coal industry- has conflicting tastes with his interior decorator Sir Charles Allom (who has extravagant taste) for his new home in New York City. Elsie becoming known as “the best of the best” was commissioned for the decorating of the familial quarters and guest bedrooms. She produced a more comfortable style emphasizing luxury reminiscent of French châteaus and Louis XVI classicism. Frick was very pleased with her work and compensated her heavily. Throughout the project they each learned a great deal from each other.
She was incredibly independent and had a long and fulfilling career as the most famous decorator in the world. Going on to use expertise to advise in set decoration in Hollywood as well as writing and speaking on the profession.
For further information on Elsie de Wolfe, I recommend reading the following:
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