The Great Lady Decorators: The Women Who Defined Interior Design, 1870-1955 [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

To be quite frank I found this book to be a bit of a disappoinment since I had read the glowing reviews and made the decision to purchase this book . When I received it and immediately started reading the book from cover to cover, but found most of the pictures to be in black and white, difficult to discover an interior when it is in black and white. I realise there were no colour photography back in those days but the colour photos that were in the book were very faded and slighty blurred which put me off a lot. I found reading the book interesting to a point and where Interior Design had its roots but I did get bored with the book and will probably not keep it as part of my collection.

If you are looking for a glamourous colourful book full of mind blowing interior design pictures this book is NOT for you. Don't be fooled by the awesome picture on the front of the book, it certainly is a one off !

A good book for a point of reference though.

If you love interior design, this is a comprehensive and engaging overview of the legendary women decorators who pioneered the decorating field. In this luxurious and picture-filled book, author Adam Lewis has distilled the essence of the lives and innovative work of the leading ladies of interior design. In chapters which read like rich mini-biographies, Lewis describes the personal and cultural currents which drove the decisions and actions of the first women design entrepreneurs who birthed the interior design world. You see similarities which united them, but also creative divergences based on their personalities and life experiences.

You can't help but fall in love with this lively assortment of ladies, as Lewis affectionately sketches them deftly depicting their strengths and eccentricities. It's intriguing to see their personal evolution as designers over time within the development of the greater design world. The books offers a combination micro and macro perspective as they influence, and are influenced by, the design universe. You get to feast on their words and learn from their original design philosophies and admonitions regarding interior decoration. One can imagine a play--Lewis??--in which they all come to dinner and have a spirited discussion regarding their diverse design tenets. There might even be some throwing of dishes by a few when they disagree. The wardrobe alone would be worth the price of admission.

As Albert Hadley succinctly said, design is an expression of personality. The author first captures the diverse and colorful personalities of these design legends through his very readable words, and then you get to see how their personalities are played out and displayed in photos from Dorothy Draper's color and theatricality, to Frances Elkins' classicism and touch of modernity, to Rose Cummings' and Madame Castaing's romanticism, to Sister Parish's warmth, charm and whimsy.

Designer Bunny Williams wrote in one of her books that she takes pencil and paper with her when she visits rooms around the world to sketch interesting furniture arrangements. I enjoyed seeing the room arrangements pictured in this book as well as viewing the world class furnishings of chairs, tables, desks, chaises etc....It's said that taste is about exposure, and the rooms featured in this book are a great collection under one cover to train your eye regarding what the early taste-makers thought was beautiful, suitable and stylish. You also learn about the discipleship and apprenticeship of the designers who worked with them and who are still working today.

The book is interestingly a kind of social history as you see how these creative women responded individually and idiosyncratically to world events of their day from the World Wars to the Great Depression to the birth of the affluent modern world. It is an indispensable resource to have in every design library. Based on the heart-warming experience reading this book, I look forward to Lewis's and Albert Hadley's collaborative new book on Billy Baldwin coming out fall 2010, and now want to read his previous books. Lewis writes with insight, knowledge and passion about his design subjects in an informative and entertaining style that delights. This book is a treat for the eyes, mind and heart.

This book was very disappointing. There were a lot of painted pictures by an artist, that were not necessary, just repeats of a previous or following page. There weren't many pictures of the homes done by the decorators mentioned in the book. I feel there should have been a lot more rooms depicted and why the decorator chose such items for that particular room. Not much mention of color also. I feel this book was hastily put together and not much thought to real reasoning, color or ideas used.