A History of Interior Design 4E

This classic reference presents the history of interior design from prehistory to the present. Exploring a broad range of design styles and movements, this revised and expanded edition includes coverage of non-Western design and vernacular interior architecture and features 665 photographs and drawings (color and black-and-white).  A History of Interior Design is an essential resource for practicing and aspiring professionals in interior design, art history, and architecture, and general readers interested in design and the decorative arts.

John Pile was Professor of Design at the renowned Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, for most of his teaching career. He is the author of twelve books on furniture, color draughtsmanship, office planning, and other aspects of interior design.

Judith Gura is a professor of design history and theory, directing the design history program at the New York School of Interior Design. She is the author of critically praised books on interior design, Scandinavian furniture, and furniture styles.

Preface 8

1 Prehistory to Early Civilizations 13

Prehistoric Interiors 13

Archeological Evidence 13

The First Shelters 13 Dolmens and Barrows 14

Evidence from Tribal Cultures 15

Pattern and Design 17

The First Permanent Settlements 18

Mesopotamia: Sumeria 19

Pre-Columbian America 20

North America 20 Central America 21

South America 24

Ancient Egypt 26

Geometry and Proportion 26

Egyptian Temples and Houses 27

Egyptian Furniture and Other Interior Furnishings 28

2 Classical Civilizations: Greece and Rome 31

Minoan and Mycenaean Cultures 31

Knossos 31

Mycenae and Tiryns 32

Greece 32

The Temple 33

Secular Interiors 36

INSIGHTS: The Growth of Athens 38

Rome 38

Arches, Vaults, and Domes 38

Amphitheaters and Baths 41

Temples 41

INSIGHTS: The Cost of Living in Ancient Rome 42

Secular Buildings 43

Furniture and Other Interior Furnishings 44

The Legacy of Rome: Technology 46

3 Early Christian, Byzantine, and Romanesque 49

Early Christian Design 49

Byzantine Design 51

Ravenna 51

INSIGHTS: The Ravenna Mosaics 52

Constantinople 52

Hagia Sophia 53

Secular Buildings 55

Early Medieval: The “Dark Ages” 55

The Romanesque Style 56

Churches 57

Germany 57

Italy 58

France 59

England 60

Scandinavia 60

Fortresses and Castles 61

Monasteries and Abbeys 62

INSIGHTS: The Abbey at Cluny 63

Houses 64

Furniture and Other Interior Furnishings 65

Spanish Romanesque 67

4 Islamic and Asian Traditions 69

Islamic Influence 69

Mosques and Palaces 70

Islamic Influence in Spain 73

The Mosque in Spain 73

Islamic Furnishings 74

India and Pakistan 77

Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain Architecture 77

Hindu Religious and Secular Buildings 79

Jain Architecture 80

Northern and Southern Styles of Temple 81

Islamic Influence in India 81

INSIGHTS: Bernier’s Account of the Taj Mahal 82

Indian Furnishings 85

Western Influence 86

Cambodia 86

Thailand 88

Indonesia 88

China 89

Chinese Architecture 89

Chinese Furnishings 92

Korea 94

Japan 95

Japanese Furnishings 99

5 The Later Middle Ages 101

Elements of Gothic Style 101

New Construction Techniques 102

Gothic Cathedrals and Churches 105

France 106

England 109

Elsewhere in Europe 111

Secular Gothic Buildings 113

INSIGHTS: Construction Work in a Medieval Building 113

Castles and Palaces 115

Medieval Houses 118

Innovations in Domestic Comfort 119

6 The Renaissance in Italy 123

The Rise of Humanism 123

Renaissance Interest in History 124

Elements of Renaissance Style 124

The Early Renaissance 125

Brunelleschi 126

Michelozzo 128

Alberti 130

The High Renaissance 130

Bramante 130

Palaces 133

INSIGHTS: Vasari’s Account of the Farnese|Palace 135

The Late Renaissance and Mannerism 136

Michelangelo 136

Romano 138

Palladio 138

Vignola 142

Interior Furnishings 142

Furniture 143

Coverings 145

7 Baroque and Rococo in Italy and Northern Europe 147

Elements of Baroque Style 147

The Baroque in Italy 148

Rome 148

Bernini 148

Borromini 150

Venice 152

Longhena 152

Turin 153

Guarini 153

Juvarra 154

Baroque in Northern Europe 155

Austria 155

Switzerland 157

Germany 158

Furniture and Other Interior Features 161

8 Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo in France and Spain 165

France 165

Early Renaissance 167

High Renaissance 168

Baroque 172

Versailles 172

INSIGHTS: Louis XIV and Versailles 174

Louvre 174

Baroque Churches 175

Furniture and Furnishings 176

Regency to Rococo 178

Paris Hôtels 179

The Petit Trianon 179

Regency and Rococo Furniture 181

Rococo to Neoclassicism 181

The Empire Style 183

INSIGHTS: Charles Percier and Pierre François-|Léonard Fontaine: The Empire Style 184

Provincial Style 185

Spain 188

Plateresco 188

Desornamentado 188

Churrigueresco 188

Furniture and Other Interior Features 191

9 Renaissance to Georgian in The Low Countries and England 193

LowCountries 193

Civic Buildings 193

Private Dwellings 194

England 195

Tudor 195

Elizabethan 196

Elizabethan Furniture 197

Jacobean 197

Jones 199 Jacobean Interior Furnishings 200

From Carolean to William and Mary 200

Wren 200

Carolean and William and Mary Interior Furnishings 203

Queen Anne 204

Queen Anne Furniture 205

Georgian 205

Robert and James Adam 206

INSIGHTS: Robert Adam and Syon House 206

Georgian Town Houses 208

Other Building Types 209

Georgian Furniture and Interior Furnishings 209

10 Colonial and Federal America 213

Colonial Styles in Latin America 213

Colonial Styles in North America 214

Early Colonial Houses 215

Early Colonial Furniture and Interior Furnishings 216

Churches and Meeting Houses 217

American Georgian 218

American Georgian Houses 218

American Georgian and Queen Anne Furniture 222

Late Colonial Public Buildings 222

Federal Styles 224

Jefferson 224

Bulfinch 225

Thornton and Latrobe 225

Furniture of the Federal Period 228

Other Furnishings of the Federal Period 230

11 The Regency, Revivals, and Industrial Revolution 233

Regency 233

Nash 233

Soane 234

Regency Furniture 234

Revivals 235

Greek Revival 236

Germany 236

England 236

United States 236

Gothic Revival 238

United States 238

England 240

The Industrial Revolution 243

Early Industrialization and Inventions 244

Industry and Interiors 244

Iron and Glass 245

England: Paxton 246

INSIGHTS: The Public’s Perception of the Crystal|Palace 247

France: Labrouste, Baltard, and Eiffel 248

12 The Victorian Era 251

The Roots of Victorian Style 251

Britain 252

Mansions 253

Middle-class Houses and Public Buildings 253

Shaw and the Queen Anne Revival 254

United States: Victorian Variations 255

Mansions 256

Vernacular House Styles 257

Shingle Style 259

Adirondack Style 259

Shaker Design 260

INSIGHTS: The Shaker Philosophy 261

Early Skyscrapers 261

Public Buildings 265

Furness 265

Furniture and Other Interior Furnishings 265

13 The Aesthetic Movements 271

Britain: Arts and Crafts 271

Ruskin and the Roots of Arts and Crafts 271

Morris 271

Webb 274

Other British Designers 275

INSIGHTS: Rossetti and the Aesthetic|

House 275

Links to Modernism 278

Voysey 278

Mackmurdo 278

Mackintosh 279

United States: The Craftsman Movement 279

Stickley and the Roycrofters 279

Bradley 282

Richardson 282

Greene & Greene and Maybeck 283

Developments in Continental Europe 284

Germany: Muthesius 285

The Netherlands: Berlage 285

14 Art Nouveau and the Vienna Secession 287

Roots and Characteristics of Art Nouveau 287

Belgium 288

Horta 288

Van de Velde 290

France 290

The School of Nancy 290

Guimard 291

Other French Designers 292

Spain 293

Gaudí 293

Germany: Jugendstil 293

Endell 294

Riemerschmid and Behrens 294

Scandinavia 294

Austria: The Vienna Secession 295

Olbrich 295

Wagner 296

INSIGHTS: Otto Wagner and “Modern|

Architecture” 296

Hoffmann 297

Loos 298

United States 299

Tiffany 300

Sullivan 301

15 Eclecticism 305

The Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris 305

United States 307

Key Architects and Designers 307

Hunt 307

McKim, Mead, & White 310

Public Buildings 311

Early Skyscrapers 312

The Rise of the Interior Decorator 314

De Wolfe 314

Wood 316

McMillen 316

Other American Decorators 316

Eclecticism in Professional Practice 317

Saarinen and Cranbrook Academy 317

Stripped Classicism 319

Eclecticism for the Masses 319

Houses and Apartments 320

Furniture and Accessories 321

Movie Theaters 321

Europe 323

Scandinavia 324

Britain 325

Lutyens 325

INSIGHTS: Sir Edwin Lutyens and the Viceroy’s|House in New Delhi 326

Ocean Liners 327

The Spread of Eclecticism 327

16 The Emergence of Modernism 329

Frank Lloyd Wright 329

The Early Commissions 330

INSIGHTS: The Philosophy of Frank Lloyd|Wright 331

De Stijl 332

Mondrian and van Doesburg 333

Rietveld 333

Pioneers of the International Style 335

Gropius and the Bauhaus 335

Mies van der Rohe 337

Work of the 1920s and 1930s 337

INSIGHTS: Mies van der Rohe: The Tugendhat|House 338

Emigration to the United States 340

Later Commissions 340

Le Corbusier 341

Paris: Developing the Machine Aesthetic 341

Early Houses, Villas, and Apartments 342

INSIGHTS: The Philosophy of Le Corbusier 345

Town Planning 346

Post-War Years 347

Later Commissions 348

Aalto 349

INSIGHTS: The Vision of Alvar Aalto 352

17 Art Deco and Industrial Design 355

Art Deco 355

France 355

Furniture Designers 355

Textile Design 357

Ocean Liners 357

United States 358

Designers from Europe 358

Deco Architecture 358

Britain 361

Scandinavia 361

Expressionism 363

Industrial Design 363

Loewy and Other Designers 364

Design Training 366

Residential Design 367

Kitchens and Bathrooms 367

Lighting 368

Textiles, Carpets, and Furniture 369

18 The Spread of Early Modernism in Europe 371

The Netherlands 372

Germanyand Austria 373

Italy 373

Switzerland 374

France 374

Scandinavia 376

England 377

19 Modernism in America 381

Architects and Designers 381

Gill 381

Wright: 1920s and 1930s 381

Schindler and Neutra 385

Lescaze 386

Goodwin and Stone 386

Gropius and Breuer 387

Mies van der Rohe 387

Johnson 388

Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill 388

Eero Saarinen 388

Interior Decoration: The Reaction to Modernism 390

Furniture and other Interior Furnishings 391

Knoll 391

Herman Miller Furniture Company 392

20 The Ascendancy of Modernism 395

Italy 396

INSIGHTS: Gio Ponti: Pirelli Tower 397

Scandinavia 398

France 400

Germany 400

The Netherlands 402

Britain 402

United States 402

Urban Office Buildings 407

Office Planning 410

Office Furniture 411

Interior Designers 411

Furniture and Other Interior Furnishings 414

Textiles 414

21 After the International Style: The Late Twentieth Century 417

Prophets of Design 418

Kahn 418

Pelli 419

High-tech 420

Fuller 420

Rogers and Piano 421

Foster 421

Stirling 422

Post-modernism 423

Venturi and Scott Brown 423

Graves 425

Other Post-modernist Work in the US 426

Post-modernism in Europe 426

The Revival of Tradition 427

Greenberg 427

Stern 427

Deconstructivism and Minimalism 428

Eisenman 429

Gehry 430

Hadid 431

Koolhaas 431

Libeskind 431

Late Modernism 431

Pei 431

Gwathmey 432

Meier 433

Individualists 434

Starck 434

Putman 434

Other Trends 435

East–West Crossovers 435

New Furniture 437

New Museums 437

Preservation 439

Socially Conscious Design 439

Green Design 439

Looking Forward 440

22 Design on a New Playing Field 443

The Key Elements 443

Sustainability 443

INSIGHTS: Green Design 443

Technology 444

Social Welfare 445

Branding 445

Collaboration 446

Globalism 446

Adaptive Reuse 446

Historic Preservation 447

Style Directions 448

Mainstream Modernism 448

Biomorphism 449

Functional Deconstructivism 449

Color Craftmanship 450

High-tech Revisited 451

Building and Interior Types 451

Museums 452

Performing Arts 454

Hotels 456

Restaurants 457

Healthcare Facilities 457

Offices 458

Residential Interiors 460

Retail 462

Schools 463

Libraries 464

Houses of Worship 465

Transportation 466

Mixed-use Developments 467

Furniture and Furnishings 468

Interior Design 470

Looking Forward 471

Glossary 472

Bibliography 477

Picture Credits 482

Index 485