Published on: Nov 1st, 2021
Interior design is what makes a house a home. Whilst solid architecture and furniture construction create a place a homeowner can live in, interior design is how a homeowner expresses themselves to others and creates a space they want to live in for a large proportion of the time.
Tracing the origin of interior design can be difficult, however, if only because we need to establish what exactly we are looking for.
If we are simply looking for the first notable professional interior designer, we need only look back a century, but if we are looking for the first example of interior design, we would need to look back thousands of years.
Instead, we are going to search for the first interior designer, and by doing so will discover the change from utility to form, and from interior design and build being dominated by architects and upholsterers to being a profession and field of expression all of its own.
The Dawn Of The Aesthetic
For most of human history, the furnishings, wall decorations and furniture people had in their homes was based primarily on functionality, with form and beauty being a secondary concern.
The first steps towards this change came with the Renaissance movement, which came with it a renewed desire for beauty after centuries where its utility was the only focus.
However, whilst the Renaissance laid the groundwork for an appreciation for art and design that permeates to the present day, this design was limited to royal palaces, ornate cathedrals and villas owned by the most important members of courtly life.
As well as this, the Renaissance began the culture of recycling historic styles, particularly those of Ancient Greece and Rome, which could also be seen in Italian Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical looks as well.
As was the case in Ancient Rome, the architect was at the centre of interior design and would be the primary lead when creating an interior space, perhaps assisted by upholsterers or craftsmen who would provide the furniture, fixtures and fittings.
This would begin to change with the dawn of the Aestheticism movement in the 19th century. Whilst primarily associated with the literary (and life) works of Oscar Wilde or the art of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the “art for art’s sake” mantra had a significant effect on design as well.
The Grammar Of Ornament
Possibly the first true interior designer was Owen Jones, who whilst also an architect in his own right, was primarily known for two major works of interior design.
The first was the Great Exhibition at the newly created Crystal Palace, the first World’s Fair ever. Whilst he did not design the building itself, he was in charge of the decoration and layout of the magnificently important exhibition.
His ideas were somewhat controversial, as he opted for a palette of reds, yellows and blues, for which he was scorned by the newspapers of the day. He also recreated the Alhambra Court, designed Greek, Roman and Egyptian themed courts and arranged the exhibits.
However, when it was unveiled in 1851, Mr Jones received a great deal of critical acclaim, leading him to find roles with several firms that provided interior design services, as well as writing the seminal text on interior design, The Grammar of Ornament, in 1856.
Here, he presented 37 key ideas in interior design, mostly to illustrate that the future of design was not to copy the works of the past but to look at why these past masterpieces were so aesthetically pleasing.
