Dorothy Draper: Design Star

The Christmas season is a hectic time for all of us. I finally finished decorating the tree, with much needed help of my husband, daughter and her boyfriend. The Christmas cards were sent; the gifts are beautifully wrapped, and tucked under the tree. Now, finally, I can relax...

While preparing for the holidays, I kept thinking about today’s post and decided to write about Dorothy Draper. Since I am a long time admirer of her work, courage, and her strife to differentiate herself from the decorators of her time.

Dorothy Draper was the pioneer female decorator in the traditionally male dominated hospitality industry. She gave the public a fresh point of view, and a new presentation of the American hotel.

Dorothy Draper

Draper’s designs were bold, with traditional French and English design elements. She loved to paint furniture in white, and she often used Chintz fabrics with cabbage roses and bold striped walls, usually a high contrast of color schemes. Draper often used dramatic shades of green, red,and coral, and was famous for creating the black and white check board floors .

The writing room at the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia

The main lobby of the Greenbrier

A bedroom with white lacquered furniture at the Hampshire House hotel in New York

Draper understood the consumer’s attraction to glamorous buildings and interiors. Her intentions in using bold colors were to induce happiness, particularly in public places, to make them memorable.

Draper’s father nicknamed her “star.” She truly was. Don’t you agree?

Photos 1, 2, 3 The History of The Greenbrier: America’s Resort
Photos courtesy of the Greenbrier archives or PR dept.
Photo 4 In The Pink: Dorothy Draper-America’s Most Fabulous Decorator