Dorothy Draper: Anti-Minimalistic Way Of Design

In the early 1920s being a woman and owning your own business was unheard of and thought of as “daring”. Women back then weren't really thought of as being business owners. It was a common way of life that a woman back then would just get married and have children. One woman challenged this way of thinking, her name was Dorothy Draper. Dorothy Draper was the first person to make interior design into a real career, and not just people arranging their homes on their own. She was established in 1923, her business was called Dorothy Draper & Company. With her blends concoction of color and classical furniture she really made a name for herself and invented the term and design practice of “Modern Baroque” (Dorothy Draper & Company,1). Though she

Her bright colors shocking backgrounds and wild choices on pigments made her a full candidate for the anti-minimalistic way of design. Her blend of old world furniture from the Georgian and Victorian ages really made her have one foot in the past and one right in the future. Though she is hailed for her work with these bright vibrant colors, there are many who thought her work was well, on the gaudy side. Minimalistic art is basically pared down art. It's art without pomp and circumstance. Though many minimalistic art pieces can be very beautiful and soothing to the eye, they are the complete opposite from what Draper’s designs were going for. Dorothy never said that she didn't love minimalistic types of design she just loved the color of her designs. Minimalist interior designs are very symmetrical and are very calming to the eye. Being in a room where it is a minimalist design scheme makes you calm. Dorothy liked the connection people made with colors and never wanted to see that change with her design. Many people hailed her designs as being costume-y and gaudy. But Dorothy knew all along that what she was doing was what she loved and she really loved color. It seems as though now a days, minimalist took the place of Drapers large colors. But we can still find many of her work in department store and hotels. It is still debated as to which is better for a room but there are many different ways of thinking

With her friends encouragement she started, Architectural Clearinghouse. It was "arguably the first official interior design business."( Collins ,4). Being a woman also this was quite the feat in the 1920s. Women didn't really own businesses back then and it was seen as very brave to own one and such a an influential one as hers. Soon after she starting getting more and more design gigs, she changed her company name to Dorothy Draper & Company. One of Draper’s biggest gigs was her commissioned to design The Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. She was commissioned by Douglas Elliman. This hotel was hugely important to Draper because she to put her design style and name on a huge piece of Manhattan. She felt as though she could really make her mark on Manhattan even though she already had in many ways being where she was from and what not. Draper was hired many more times by Douglas. He had her designing homes all over Manhattan. Draper did a great deal of hotel design, including Sherry-Netherland in New York, the Drake in Chicago, the Fairmont in San Francisco. At the height of the Depression, Draper spent $10 million designing the Quitandinha in Rio de Janeiro.” (Dorothy Draper & Company,2). Draper was commissioned to do many other places including hotels, homes, and restaurants. Draper’s most well-known and famous interior design was the Greenbrier of West Virginia. The Greenbrier was used as a hospital