Dorothy Draper was an amazing American decorator who I truly admire. Dorothy’s use of grand scale, bold color and geometric forms has greatly influenced my design style.  Her designs are still en vogue decades after her sumptuous interiors were completed.  I truly love the Dorothy Draper Collection by Kindel Furniture. Created with the great Carlton Varney, Dorothy’s protoge, the collection is a perfect representation of Dorothy’s unique style. Here are a few of my favorite pieces.

The España Bunching Chest in Ocean with White Accents is sublime. I have a pair of these in the entry of my art gallery and wish I could take them home.

The Draper Console & Curio originally designed for the Greenbrier Hotel was inspired by the Chinese Chippendale movement. I love how you can change the color of the back or cover it in wallpaper!

The American Baroque Mirroris another collection piece inspired by a Greenbrier design. Does this ever make a statement?

The Café Side Chairis gorgeous with its French-inspired cabriole legs! And this beauty comes in orange too.

The fretwork end panels of the Trellis Writing Table are a signature of Draper style.  This handsome desk is one of my top picks from the collection.

You could sit pretty on the Camellia House Bench. I recently used two of these for a client at the foot of  twin beds and they look fabulous!

I think Kindel describes the collection best:
“From the 1930’s to the 1960’s, Dorothy Draper was the most famous decorator in America. A pioneering businesswoman and expert colorist, she used her trademark cabbage-rose chintz and neo-baroque plasterwork to create innovative and dramatic interiors for apartment houses, hotels, restaurants, theaters, department stores and private homes.  The Dorothy Draper Collection, is a collaboration with Carleton Varney, the current president and owner of Dorothy Draper and Co. in New York. This collection is versatile in its offerings of painted and wood finishes. The articles of furniture are reproductions adaptations and inspirations from the Draper’s corporate design work at such institutions as The Greenbrier Hotel, The Mark Hopkins Hotel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Hampshire House.  The world of Dorothy Draper is one that combines old-world glamour with a current lifestyle and a wink of reverence for the past.”

So to add a little glamour to your interiors, try one of Dorothy’s pieces. You will be glad you did.

Happy Sunday!