Gay interior designers

The LGBTQ use interior design as an expression of their identity and character; they often group together to create informal networks or communities, giving them an outlet for their creativity. Many LGBTQ interior designers were also architects, leading to the intertwining of the two professions. Many of us have taken interior design inspiration from HGTV stars, who take on both the most daunting of fixer-uppers in addition to designing their own stunning homes.

This list of HGTV hosts serves as another source of inspiration for audience members who are a part of the LGBTQ community. For Pride Month, we wanted to highlight a wide array of creative individuals across the LGBTQ+ spectrum who are making their own mark in the world of furniture, decor, and interior design. We. In celebration of togetherness and freedom to be yourself, we listed some of our favorite members of the LGBTQIA community that are making a massive impact in the field of interior design and homemaking.

This year, to celebrate Pride, we’re spotlighting 10 LGBTQ+ designers who have made significant strides in interior design, style, home decor, and more. These designers are doing incredible work throughout the industry, creating thoughtful designs and pioneering innovative trends. A special thank you to Sarah Nelson-Woynicz for acting as a reader for this piece.

By the time architect Philip Johnson appeared on the cover of Out magazine in , LGBT was officially part of the design conversation. It took another decade or two, though, for recognition at the local, state, and federal levels. And yet while all of this might seem relatively recent okay, yes, the s were 30 years ago, but still! As early as the turn of the twentieth century, there is documentation of women who were, to varying extents, open and public about their sexual orientation and life partners, and yet still active and highly respected within the design and architectural communities.

As Megan E. Missing are the histories of transgender folk, lesbians, bisexuals, people living in rural areas, and people of color. De Wolfe became interested in decorating through set design during her time as an actress, and she delved into the field in the late s when she redecorated the interiors of No. Within a few years she deemed decorating her true calling and retired from the theater perhaps for the best — many, with the exception of Marbury, described her talents on stage as loosely mediocre.

Soon, she was busy establishing her design vision that contrasted sharply from the typical interiors of the day think traditional Victorian-era design, with heavy velvets, wood paneling, and lots of William Morris wallpapers in deep greens and browns. She embraced an emphasis on lightness and intimacy, employing wicker, tiled floors, trellises, mirrors, light-colored fabrics, and plenty of eighteenth century French furniture to create spaces that were distinct, delicate, and clearly de Wolfe.

Pierpont Morgan , along with Stanford White of the legendary architecture firm McKim, Mead and White , helped her secure the commission for the interior decoration of the Colony Club , the first social club established in New York City by and for women. With her signature interiors, the Club — and de Wolfe — became a huge success. Soon, de Wolfe was the most sought-after interior decorator on the East Coast, with clients ranging from elite private clubs and prominent businesses to notable educational facilities and lavish mansions of the early twentieth century at a time when the concept of an interior decorator, especially for women, was novel.

Indeed, interiors, in particular public spaces, were typically executed only by male architects or antiques dealers. In the middle of the Great Depression!

William Waldorf Astor, and Edith Wharton. Pierpont Morgan, and her lover and widow of William K. Vanderbilt Anne Vanderbilt. Courtesy of NYPL.

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Significantly, it was publicly known and, at least to some degree, accepted by their peers in high society that Marbury and de Wolfe lived together and were in a long, serious relationship together. Publications across the nation frequently noted their travels together, cohabitation at Irving Place in the winter, and summers together at their home in Versailles, France fear not, de Wolfe also expertly decorated this home as well.

May I also add — for color no pun intended! Not only were newspapers and magazines writing about them — in fact, the two appeared in newspaper articles so often that one wonders if newspaper columnists were also guests at their Sunday teas — but also the couple was somewhat explicit about their relationship in their own writings.

Today, historians point out that the relationship appeared to be platonic and for social reasons; in fact, de Wolfe barely mentioned him in After All. Ultimately, in , when Marbury passed away at age 77, de Wolfe was the primary beneficiary of her will. On the one hand, it can be difficult to square the rigidity and expectations of gender and sexuality of the Victorian era with the seemingly lively, bohemian, yet well-respected lifestyle the two led.

How were both Marbury and de Wolfe able to become extremely successful in their respective fields, in spite of their personal lives, which were so frequently broadcast across the nation and the world? Was society at the turn of the 20th century really more open and accepting than previously thought? Is it possible that their talents overshadowed what might have otherwise been seen at the time as unacceptable romantic lives?

On the other hand, though, I would suggest that the key to answering this question is to look at the society that Marbury and de Wolfe came from and the circles they moved within. Both benefited from coming from white, upper class families — Marbury in particular came from a wealthy, long-standing family in New York — and started out life with many connections that would help propel the two forward.