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Overview
A global survey of 250 of the most creative women practicing interior design from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day
The history of women's involvement in interior design is rich and varied. It is a discipline where women enjoy an equal standing with their male counterparts, yet it is typically framed as a design practice especially suited to women, secondary to the heroic role of architect or furniture designer.
This timely survey explores the ways in which women have shaped the built environment beyond the confines of the home, revealing their careers as true tastemakers of the twentieth and twenty-first century. Making Space shines a light on the diverse and influential work of 250 women who design interiors - well-known, unsung, and emerging - from more than 50 countries.
The featured designers represent myriad styles, from flamboyant maximalism to artfully arranged minimalism. There are the big names, such as Rose Uniacke, Kelly Wearstler, and Brigette Romanek; pioneers, including Dorothy Draper, Sibyl Colefax, and Elsie de Wolfe; and those who have been almost entirely written out of history.
Beautifully designed and illustrated with hundreds of striking photographs, Making Space will inspire anyone who cares about the spaces within which they live.
Designers featured include: Sophie Ashby, Sofía Aspe, Gae Aulenti, Kelly Behun, Madeleine Castaing, Sibyl Colefax, Athena Calderone, Ilse Crawford, Olayinka Dosekun-Adjei, Dorothy Draper, Nathalie and Virginie Droulers, Shahira Fahmy, Beata Heuman, Katie Lockhart, Yana Molodykh, Tekla Evelina Severin, and Pamela Shamshiri.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781837290086
- ISBN-10: 1837290083
- Publisher: Phaidon Press
- Publish Date: October 2025
- Dimensions: 11.57 x 10.04 x 1.06 inches
- Shipping Weight: 4.25 pounds
- Page Count: 288
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Making Space: Interior Design by Women has an extraordinary, fascinating organizing principle: a survey of interiors designed by women. The book includes 65 entries from as early as the 1880s—such as Candace Wheeler’s design of Mark Twain’s Connecticut home—although the majority of the designers are working in the 21st century. Its contents are organized alphabetically by the designers’ names, so an entry on Muriel Brandolini, whose style is informed by her upbringing in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, is followed by self-taught designer Sally Breer, who takes inspiration from her love of modern art. The variety among the designers proves writer Jane Hall’s thesis: that the private nature of interiors has allowed women to be remarkably innovative. Hall is incredibly knowledgeable about her subject, and she occasionally slips in memorable anecdotes, as in her wry entry about the legendary Iris Apfel: “[Apfel’s] textiles were included in the redecoration of the White House throughout nine presidential terms, with Iris often clashing with First Ladies—except Mrs. Nixon, whom she found cooperative.” Other highlights include Vanessa Bell’s 16th-century farmhouse in East Sussex, which featured wallpaper designed by imprinting Bell’s own body on the walls to create impressions in a painterly style, and Julia Morgan’s design for the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Morgan was commissioned by publishing magnate William Hearst to build “a little something,” Hall writes, and “the project ballooned to 165 rooms. It even included a zoo, which Julia designed along with the interiors and landscape.” But Morgan, who died in 1957, offered more than just an illustration of a woman’s capacity for greatness: She’s also an example of the way women’s talents are often denied recognition. “Despite being so present in her work,” Hall explains, “her career had been historically overlooked.” That is, until she was recognized with the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in 2014; she was the first woman to receive the award in the institute’s 107-year history. It’s details like this that make the female-centric focus of Making Space so illuminating.
Making Space: Interior Design by Women has an extraordinary, fascinating organizing principle: a survey of interiors designed by women. The book includes 65 entries from as early as the 1880s—such as Candace Wheeler’s design of Mark Twain’s Connecticut home—although the majority of the designers are working in the 21st century. Its contents are organized alphabetically by the designers’ names, so an entry on Muriel Brandolini, whose style is informed by her upbringing in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, is followed by self-taught designer Sally Breer, who takes inspiration from her love of modern art. The variety among the designers proves writer Jane Hall’s thesis: that the private nature of interiors has allowed women to be remarkably innovative. Hall is incredibly knowledgeable about her subject, and she occasionally slips in memorable anecdotes, as in her wry entry about the legendary Iris Apfel: “[Apfel’s] textiles were included in the redecoration of the White House throughout nine presidential terms, with Iris often clashing with First Ladies—except Mrs. Nixon, whom she found cooperative.” Other highlights include Vanessa Bell’s 16th-century farmhouse in East Sussex, which featured wallpaper designed by imprinting Bell’s own body on the walls to create impressions in a painterly style, and Julia Morgan’s design for the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Morgan was commissioned by publishing magnate William Hearst to build “a little something,” Hall writes, and “the project ballooned to 165 rooms. It even included a zoo, which Julia designed along with the interiors and landscape.” But Morgan, who died in 1957, offered more than just an illustration of a woman’s capacity for greatness: She’s also an example of the way women’s talents are often denied recognition. “Despite being so present in her work,” Hall explains, “her career had been historically overlooked.” That is, until she was recognized with the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in 2014; she was the first woman to receive the award in the institute’s 107-year history. It’s details like this that make the female-centric focus of Making Space so illuminating.