Rise of the Decorator

Frances Elkins was a very influential woman designer. She has been referred to as "the first greatest California decorator." She created the famous Loop Chair. Elkins also decorated a number of public spaces in the Bay Area, including the Yerba Buena Club at the Golden Gate International Exposition, the 1939 fair staged on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. The interiors of the club were arresting. She chose yellow for the luxurious velvet curtains and the wall draperies that billowed from the lofty ceiling in the members' dining room. Window blinds—vertically patterned in a bold blue-and-white stripe —provided contrast to the dining room's dramatic design, which was dominated by Frank-style chairs and Giacomettistyle standing lamps. Although Elkins was highly regarded in San Francisco before the fair opened, her triumph at the Yerba Buena Club solidified her reputation in the Bay Area.

Elkins Famous Loop Chair

Contemporary take on the famous Loop Chair

                                               

Frances Elkins was best known in California. However, along with her prolific achievements in and around Chicago, she also decorated houses on the East Coast, where her revolutionary style defied tradition. In 1950 Van Day Truex, at the suggestion of Albert Hadley, invited Elkins to judge the senior student presentation of interior design assignments at the Parsons School of Design. Elkins, no doubt, with her great taste, innate ability and inestimable influence on the field of interior design, contributed invaluable insight to the occasion.

Link to a video on Frances Elkins:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLL09zbxlG0

Peer Reviews:

Megan: I liked the photos she shared to show Clodagh's design. The designs are very interesting and I loved the picture of the second interior because of the lights that are shown.

Marisa: I enjoyed your take on Francis Elkins. Since we wrote on the same person it is interesting to see the different view points. I liked how you dove into her personal life.