The American Dorothy Draper was the inventor of what we know today as interior design.

During the 1920s, she and her husband bought houses and resold them. Dorothy, a young woman from New York’s high society, began to customize each home and give it a style of her own. His clients encouraged him to start a decorating business, which he called Architectural Clearing House, the first decorating store in the USA. The great fortunes of America turned to Dorothy to carry out integral projects in their homes, thus becoming the interior designer of the American upper class.

An image of Dorothy Draper

“If it looks right, it is right” was his decorative slogan. was his decorative slogan and under that philosophy he filled the most exclusive spaces of his country with a style that would later be known as the “right style”. New Baroque, with extravagant plaster moldings, paneled walls, black and white checkerboard floors, striking mirrors, vibrant and pompous colors, and its most commonly used color: cabbage pink.

The “Victorian Writing Room”, located in the Greenbrier Hotel

Dorothy was letting her imagination run wild, and trying to move away from a boring and flat style, distancing herself from the conventional. Daring to incorporate the “Draper touch” was bold and exciting. His historical references and exquisite taste in decoration respond to the trips he made with his family around Europe, where he was able to observe the different historical styles, which were applied in the exterior and interior of the buildings and was inspired by them to create his exuberant and innovative proposals.

“The Quitandinah Palace&Casino Resort, in Petrópolis

It was a revolution in the decoration, many today compare it within the interior design sector, what Coco Chanel is in the world of fashion. Dorothy became a real reference, she was followed and called upon to do big projects, she designed movie sets, theaters, airplane interiors, designed fabrics for Schumacher and even designed a line of cars for Packard and Chrysler in the 50s.

The Greenbrier, West Virginia

In 2006, Dorothy Draper was the star of an exhibition held at the City Museum of New York, becoming the first interior designer to receive such a tribute.