Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

The Decoration of Houses

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Language
  
English

Media type
  
Print (Hardback)

OCLC
  
86111252

Author
  
Page count
  
204

Country
  
United States of America

Publication date
  
1898

Pages
  
204

Originally published
  
1897

Publisher
  
Pavilion Books

Genre
  
Interior design

The Decoration of Houses t1gstaticcomimagesqtbnANd9GcT35IuA2OyN0yUiTw

ISBN
  
978-0-8478-2916-3 (2007 Rizzoli reprint)

Similar
  
Edith Wharton books, Interior design books

The decoration of houses


The Decoration of Houses, a manual of interior design written by Edith Wharton with architect Ogden Codman, was first published in 1897. In the book, the authors denounced Victorian-style interior decoration and interior design, especially those rooms that were decorated with heavy window curtains, Victorian bric-a-brac and overstuffed furniture. They argued that such rooms emphasized upholstery at the expense of proper space planning and architectural design and were, therefore, uncomfortable and rarely used. Wharton and Codman advocated the creation of houses with rooms decorated with strong architectural wall and ceiling treatments, accentuated by well-suited furniture, rooms based on simple, classical design principles such as symmetry and proportion and a sense of architectural balance. The Decoration of Houses is considered a seminal work and its success led to the emergence of professional decorators working in the manner advocated by its authors, most notably Elsie de Wolfe. The book was reprinted by The Mount and Rizzoli and in a hardcover facsimile in 2007.

Contents

Concepts

Wharton and Codman wrote 198 pages divided into sixteen chapters. The first few chapters focus on the importance of balance, symmetry and good use of space, while later chapters have to do with the specific use of rooms and how rooms ought to be arranged in order to ensure optimal comfort and usefulness.

Wharton and Codman were very fond of past styles of furniture in comparison with the upstart Victorian furnishings surrounding them. Much preferring simplicity and order in decoration, they warned readers not to mix and match styles of furniture eclectically. They also preferred the use of less detail, looking down on the Victorian love for clutter and busy wallpapers and fabrics.

References

The Decoration of Houses Wikipedia


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