The House in Good Taste
by Elsie De Wolfe
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Book Summary Information
Author: Elsie De WolfeIntroduction: Albert Hadley
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-06-12
ISBN: 0847826317
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Rizzoli
Book Reviews of The House in Good Taste
Book Review: Brass Beds, Lace Curtains, Rocking Chairs be gone!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was a surprise. Written in 1914 it seems current. I had delayed reading this classic, to my regret. De Wolfe's wonderful book is back with an updated introduction and several additions in the note section at the back that refer to today's decoration. It also includes the reasons behind her dislike of Eastlake furniture--which is just fabulous stuff, especially when re-upholstered in a updated print (the same goes for most Victorian furniture). I agree with her on her dislike of brass beds and lace curtains...but she also disliked rocking chairs...and for that, one must consider she never had a baby...
First, a lot of what she said is relevant then, as it is today. There is a big difference though, and that is simply put, people do not have her kind of money...so in some ways her advice has a bit of Marie Antoinette feeling to it. That shouldn't surprise as she lived across the street from Versailles.
Her writing is vibrant,and conveys the person behind the taste. She loved chinoiserie, fireplaces, leopard print, stripes, chintz and trellis. Would she fit into a Nate Berkus world...no...but decorating tastes move on and one can see a hint of Elsie here and there. Though I still prefer Sister Parish by far...Elsie is a close second.
Summary of The House in Good Taste
After ninety years, The House in Good Taste by America's "first lady of interior decoration," Elsie de Wolfe, still offers timeless design advice.Compiled from her articles in newspapers and magazines and first published in 1914, The House in Good Taste is a seminal book on interior design with ideas that have lasted a century because they influenced not only the wealthy clients of Park Avenue and Palm Beach, but popular taste as well.
De Wolfe advised Americans to shun ostentation and clutter in favor of simplicity, to dismantle the draperies in order to let in the light, and to replace garish colors with beige and ivory. "I believe in plenty of optimism and white paint," she declared, "comfortable chairs with lights beside them, open fires on the hearth and flowers wherever they 'belong,' mirrors and sunshine in all rooms." The rooms that Americans inhabited in the middle of the twentieth century still today owe much to de Wolfe's tastes.
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