The current profession of interior designer is attributed to a woman named Dorothy Draper, who was commissioned to decorate all thirty-seven floors of the Hampshire House hotel in 1937 in Manhattan. Although renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright called her an “inferior desecrator,” Ms. Draper had decorated dozens of offices, restaurants, hospitals, and even a car for Packard (in 1952) and an airplane interior for Convair (the 880). before she died in 1969.

Ms. Draper also left a legacy through a series of books, including a series of books on entertainment etiquette, some of which have recently been reprinted to help modern socialites entertain guests and be the soul of your parties. In a way, Dorothy Draper was the Martha Stewart of her day, and she offered advice on a wide variety of topics to her eager readers.

Although Dorothy Draper is no longer a household name, she had a huge effect on American interior design ideas in her day, and although she had her detractors (such as Frank Lloyd Wright and others), there is no denying that it was she who made the interior designer profession possible for everyone who came after her.

Much of Mrs. Draper’s work has not survived to this day, but some of Mrs. Draper’s work can still be seen in various locations around the country. For example, there are still Dorothy Draper chandeliers hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. For a less prosaic look at Mrs. Draper’s influence, just look for the blue and orange facades of the many Howard Johnson restaurants that still dot the countryside from coast to coast. The color scheme for her was first suggested by Dorothy Draper.

The science of interior design has come a long way in the last seventy years. Today, it is a multi-billion dollar industry and incorporates aspects of environmental psychology and architecture, as well as product and furniture design to create spaces that function well and are aesthetically pleasing for their owners.