Wednesdays on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles interior designer James Swan challenges readers to stretch their design muscles with some heavy lifting. DesignCoach™ helps make Good, Design, Daily.
This week on the DesignCoach: New On Wednesdays; A Smarter, Sexier You
Interior Design and Decoration has helped frame the twentieth century fascination with the art of living. It has only been since the early 1900’s that the planning, selection and placement of furnishings and fixtures has been deemed a profession. The oldest professional organization of decorators (more recently preferring the title designer) dates back to 1931. Elsie de Wolfe, later Lady Mendl (read The House in Good Taste by Elsie de Wolfe for more from this fascinating woman) has been called the first interior decorator. It is debatable whether she was the very first but it is not debatable that she turned to the vocation of decorating around the turn of the century and accomplished many of her important projects before 1920!
The art of fine living, as nurtured by the design industry, has fostered a language of its own. The best way to master the world of design and decoration is to master the language.
Antique: On object that is old and often valuable to collectors because of its age. A common understanding holds that an “antique” is at least 100 years old.
Ancient: An object dated to or inspired by a period of ancient history, especially ancient Greece and Rome.
Eclectic: A decorating technique based on the mix of furniture and objects from varied periods and areas around the world. Stimulating when used well; jarring when done poorly.
