Dorothy Draper Furniture
Few would argue with the statement that Dorothy Draper was the most influential American interior decorator of the past century. They might make a case for Elsie de Wolfe, who had banished heavy dark furnishings and finishes from late Edwardian-era rooms, or plump for Sister Parish, and her easeful gentrified look. But Draper simply was the face of decorating. Savvy, decisive and trim — she looked the part. And her 1939 book Decorating Is Fun! and a regular column for Good Housekeeping maintained that public image. As did, of course, her work.
Born to wealth in Tuxedo Park, New York, Draper received little formal schooling but did travel extensively in Europe, where she refined her eye and tastes. Draper invented the interior design style known these days as Hollywood Regency. She loved bold vibrant color, which she deployed in unusual combinations (pink paired with eggplant was a favorite). She had a penchant for black-and-white checkered floors.
Draper liked a room to have a statement piece on the wall, preferably a plaster scrollwork-framed mirror. But most of all Draper liked such things as huge moldings brimming with Baroque detail; upholstery fabrics with overscaled florals, such as her signature print called “Cabbage Rose.” Draper could keep it simple. Many of her chairs are unfussy slipper or club chairs, with maybe a little tufting. Her cabinets and other case pieces are equally elegant — the quiet España chest, which has three drawers with round brass pulls, has been a staple of classic decorating ever since Draper designed it in 1953.
During a heyday of production in the mid-1950s, Heritage entered into a partnership with Draper, while Frank Lloyd Wright created several lines of furniture for Henredon — the works by both designers, which included Draper's España line and Viennese furnishings group, were marketed under the Heritage-Henredon name owing to a cross-licensing agreement between the brands.
Because of her passion for scale and grand gestures, most of Draper’s commissions were for hotels, resorts and apartment towers. In these spaces, she could follow her whim and produce such extravagances as the massive, playfully modernist chandelier in the lobby of the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia; the wildly Baroque fireplace in the lounge of New York’s Hampshire House; and the towering lacquered doors of the Arrowhead Springs Hotel in California. The woman thought big.
Browse a collection of vintage Dorothy Draper furniture on 1stDibs.
Late 20th Century North American Hollywood Regency Dorothy Draper Furniture
Brass
1940s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
Lacquer
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dorothy Draper Furniture
Marble, Brass
2010s American Dorothy Draper Furniture
Glass
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
Brass, Gold Leaf
1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
Brass, Bronze
Mid-20th Century Italian Hollywood Regency Dorothy Draper Furniture
Giltwood
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dorothy Draper Furniture
Crystal
20th Century American Dorothy Draper Furniture
Brass
19th Century Antique Dorothy Draper Furniture
Brass
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dorothy Draper Furniture
Metal, Brass
20th Century Organic Modern Dorothy Draper Furniture
Rock Crystal
19th Century European Antique Dorothy Draper Furniture
Brass
20th Century Dorothy Draper Furniture
Blown Glass
1940s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
Aluminum
Late 20th Century American Hollywood Regency Dorothy Draper Furniture
Textile
1960s American Hollywood Regency Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
Aluminum
1940s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
1940s American Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Dorothy Draper Furniture
Silk, Wood
1940s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
1940s American Art Deco Vintage Dorothy Draper Furniture
Walnut