The Decoration of Houses

"The Decoration of Houses" by Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman is a practical guide on interior design, written in the late 19th century. The work explores the principles and foundations of house decoration, emphasizing the importance of architecture in the decorative arts. The text focuses on how to harmonize decorative elements with structural features, offering insights into creating aesthetically pleasing and functional spaces. The opening of the book presents the authors’ thoughts on how rooms may be decorated through two contrasting methods: superficial application of ornamentation or integrating inherent architectural features. They discuss the evolution of decoration from medieval times, where practicality dictated aesthetics, to more modern approaches that sometimes disconnect the interior from the exterior. Wharton and Codman critique the current trend of separating architectural design from decoration, positing that a deeper understanding of historical styles and principles can lead to a more cohesive and pleasing aesthetic in modern homes. They also touch on the confusion and misconceptions surrounding house decoration, asserting that mastery of architectural proportion is essential for effective decoration. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Edith Newbold Wharton was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, for her novel, The Age of Innocence. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, in 1996. Her other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.