Sister Parish Design: On Decorating

by Susan Bartlett Crater, Libby Cameron, Mita Corsini Bland (Illustrator)

Comfort is the essential element of a successful interior and the hallmark of the Parish-Hadley style. In Sister Parish Design, Libby Cameron, Sister's last protoge, and Susan B. Crater, Sister's granddaughter, explore this aspect and much more in a series of conversations with the leading decorators of today.

Sister Parish is the iconic American decorator of her generation. Her use of flowered chintzes and overstuffed armchairs combined with unexpected items, like patchwork quilts and painted furniture, is credited with popularizing what is known as American Country style during the 1960s. Her passion for bold color and mixed patterns invoked charm, imagination, and a lived-in look to her rooms. Her philosophy was to be unafraid and to put things together because you liked them--not because they matched.

Filled with beautifully-rendered watercolor illustrations, Sister Parish Design is more then just a stunning book; it is an inspirational resource that all decorating aficionados will want to add to their bookshelf.

Genres: Interior Design, Design

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oral history of Sister Parish, her designing principles, the society she travelled in (and was part of,) and so much more. Family members, friends and fellow decorators interviewed with their comments on the lady herself, the decorating firm, "How society was back then" and more.

I didn't really gain any new knowledge about Sister Parish (having just finished a biography) or designing guidelines (I've read a ton of these books and with some of the same women involved: Dorothy Draper (her cousin,) Edith Wharton, Elsie de Wolfe and so on. What is truly remarkable about all of these women is how they became successful in business in an era where women, especially women of this social class (upper) were not supposed to be working at all. They had "staff" for all of that.

If you are building your knowledge about decorating and-or the history of decorating this book is well worth your time. The copy I received from the library was battered and much handled over time. It needed a redo as well.

[David Harman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Round Table of Design Luminaries

Definitely a 5 star rating! An introspective look into the interior design field with commentary by it's greatest proponents and practioners: Bunny Williams, Albert Haddley, Peter Dunham et al in an almost round table exchange.

[Sylvia Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to imagine this much good advice about decorating in one place; but here we have it. This sweet beautiful book contains a bounty of superb advice from the scions of design. There is advice from the late Sister Parish and her right hand, man Albert Hadley too. Mita Corsini Bland's watercolor illustrations alone make this a book worth buying. It is smart, funny, and beautifully laid out start to finish.

[Brice Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about this famous designer