The Women Who Professionalized Interior Design

Peter B. Dedek is a professor in the Department of History at Texas State University as well as a historian and an interior designer. Dedek's doctorate is in history with an emphasis in historic preservation from Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee. His master's and bachelor's degrees are in interior design and are both from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. His research focuses on cultural histories of the historic built environment and landscapes, exploring significant designers and architects, historic architecture and interiors, and popular icons from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Bridging theoretical study and the practical work of public history and historic preservation, Dedek integrates cultural history, design history, and social history in his writing. Peter B. Dedek teaches history of interior design, furniture, and architecture courses, along with historic preservation and American history, at Texas State University.

Introduction. 1. Architects, Furniture Salesmen, and Upholsterers: The Origins of Interior Design (1700s-1860s) 2. The Feminization of Interior Decoration (1840s-1910s) 3. Reforming Victorian Chaos (1860s-1910s) 4. The High Society "Lady" decorators (1900s-1950s) 5. Turf, Taste, and Gender: Fraught Relationships among Interior Decorators, Designers, and Architects (1840s-1980s) 6. "Decorators may be Compared to Doctors:" The Professionalization of Interior Design and the Female Interior Designer (1870s-2000s)