Dorothy Draper
If you put together wide stripes, cabbage rose florals, and an eclectic mashup of fluorescents and black & whites, you get “modern baroque style”. Dorothy Draper is the woman responsible for the development of this whimsical style. Her flamboyant designs were a materialized rebellion to the tired, muted colors of the 1920s. Rather, Draper preached confidence and boldness in both life and design.
Draper was born into New York high society with her family’s prominent name. She went on to marry, and later, divorce. It was the aftermath of her divorce which inspired her to re-establish her design business as “Dorothy Draper & Company”. In doing so, Draper began to pave the way for the interior design industry in America as well as businesswomen everywhere.
Most of the spaces she designed were for elite crowds, but Draper’s style aimed to bring extravagance to everyone. She has been remembered as saying, “there seems to be within all of us an innate yearning to be lifted momentarily out of our own lives into the realm of charm and make believe.”
Some of Draper’s notable works include the Metropolitan Museum of Art cafeteria, nicknamed “The Dorotheum” in her honor, the Greenbriar Hotel & Resort, and some unique fabric patterns, such as “Romance & Rhododendrons” and “Fudge Apron”.
Today, the legacy of Dorothy Draper lives on. You can bring her modern baroque style into your own home with extravagant statement pieces and elegant accents alike.
Pictures are taken from the Greenbrier hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
