Interior Designers and Decorators

Appreciation for beauty has been expressed in many art forms, including music, painting, sculpture, and poetry. One way to make such beauty a part of everyday life is through decoration of the interiors of buildings. Individuals throughout history have added personal touches of decoration to their homes. Until recently, however, major design and decorating projects have been the privilege of the wealthy.

Artists such as Michelangelo were employed to design and beautify palaces and other buildings, making use of sculpture, paintings, and other wall coverings. Kings sometimes made names for themselves by the decorating trends initiated in their palaces. Such trends came to include furniture, draperies, and often clothing. Home designs and furniture were either largely functional, as in the early American tradition, or extremely ornate, as in the style of Louis XIV of France.

As society prospered, the field of interior design emerged. While Elsie de Wolfe was the first person to actually practice interior design as a distinct profession in 1905, it wasn't until the 1950s that the design revolution really began. Today, design professionals plan interiors of homes, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, theaters, stores, offices, and other buildings.