about her: Elsie de Wolfe
Image Source: Getty Images
Elsie de Wolfe has often been awarded with the title of the world’s first interior designer. Her work helped to shift NYC's interior design trends away from dark, heavy Victorian traditions towards a more modern light-filled and naturist inspired interior. In this issue of our inaugural historic interiors newsletter, we’re excited to highlight three of de Wolfe’s iconic projects!
Famous for her use of brightly painted trellis in her garden rooms, her aesthetic quickly captivated New York’s high society at the time. Her client roster included Oscar Wilde, Condé Nast, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and members of the Frick, Morgan, and Vanderbilt dynasties. Her widely-read book, "The House in Good Taste" (1913), is a foundational guide for interior decorating.
Image Source: National Portrait Gallery
Born in New York City in 1865, de Wolfe was deeply influenced by her extensive European travels. During this time, she famously met Queen Victoria, describing her as "a little fat queen in a black dress and a load of jewels"! Returning to New York in the 1890s, de Wolfe pursued a career in acting, leading her to meet Elisabeth Marbury, a theatre agent who became her mentor and lifelong companion.
Image Source: Wikimedia
De Wolfe's career shifted dramatically after redesigning 122 East 17th Street, NYC, the Union Square-adjacent home she shared with Marbury. This experience inspired her to fully embrace interior design professionally, starting notably with the Colony Club—New York’s first social club exclusively for women. De Wolfe later married British diplomat Sir Charles Mendl, though she remained living with Marbury until Marbury’s death in 1933. Elsie de Wolfe spent her later years between New York City and Versailles, passing away in France in 1950.
Image Source: W Magazine
Project one: The Colony Club
120 Madison Avenue, NYC (1905-1907)
De Wolfe’s professional interior design debut, the Colony Club, was New York's first women-only social club (and is still in existence today!). The architecture was designed by McKim, Mead & White, whilst de Wolfe designed the interiors.
Image Source: Medium
The Trellis Room (pictured above), decorated with white lattice walls and lush climbing vines, featured delicate wicker furniture paired with floral-patterned cushions, capturing her signature style—fresh, airy, and comfortably elegant, moving decisively away from Victorian formality. Use of Trompe l'œil murals and tiled flooring brought an imaginary Gardens of Versailles inside to NYC.
Image Source: Inside Inside
The club relocated in 1916, with the building later becoming the East Coast headquarters of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. The club still exists at 564 Park Avenue, designed by Delano & Aldrich in the Neo-Georgian style, with interiors again by Elsie de Wolfe.
The Garden Room at the Hotel Chelsea Lobby Bar is an ode to our love for this iconic now-lost NYC space, and to de Wolf herself, an iconic New Yorker in her own right.
Image Source: Hotel Chelsea
Project two: The Planting Fields Tea House
1395 Planting Fields Road, Oyster Bay, NY (1915)
The Planting Fields Tea House on Long Island, built in 1915, remains preserved today. The Garden Room's baby blue trellised walls, color blocked pastel furnishings, and lighting styled after flower spring bouquets exemplify de Wolfe’s playful yet sophisticated approach to color, theme, and pattern.
Image Source: SJNY.edu
The mural painted by Everett Shinn above the fireplace adds a fairy-tale charm, enhancing the room’s delightful atmosphere.
Image Source: House Beautiful
We highly recommend a day trip to visit the Tea House, only a 1.5 hour drive from NYC!
You can visit here: plantingfields.org
Image Source: Planting Fields Foundation
Project three: Villa Trianon 61 Rue de Versailles
78150 Le Chesnay, France (1903-1905)
Lastly, Villa Trianon, de Wolfe’s own home in Versailles, reflects her sophisticated yet comfortable style. The renowned Music Pavilion garden room, captured by artist William Bruce Ellis Ranken (pictured above), served as an exquisite setting for legendary gatherings. A Marie Antionette influenced trellis style, layered and cut into wainscotting, decorative casing, and arches were painted a more traditional greenroom kelly green. Further use of Trompe l'œil murals created little universes in each room. Her signature color-blocked furniture was showcased in the upholstery of the Louis XVI chairs.
Image Source: World of Interiors
Soft sheer drapery gathered in windows creating a soft warm interior light, reminiscent of a greenhouse in the morning. de Wolfe hosted her famed Circus Balls at the villa, marking the height of pre-war Parisian social life. At one event, de Wolfe once led a miniature circus of trained ponies and dogs along the great lawn while dressed in an evening gown and an aquamarine-and-diamond headdress by Cartier. These events drew over 700 guests, including notable figures such as Coco Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and the Rothschilds. The villa has undergone several ownership changes since de Wolfe's death in 1950.
Image Source: World of Interiors
After being shuttered for three decades, it was sold in the 1980s, and its contents were auctioned off at the Hôtel Georges V in Paris. The villa now operates as a bed and breakfast. You can book a stay here: Villa Trianon Bed and Breakfast
Image Source: Hadley Court
Elsie de Wolfe's enduring legacy continues to inspire us on the regular here at Studio Sio. We hope every time you enter a trellis room from now on – you remember Elsie de Wolf, her gorgeous interiors, and her well-lived adventurous life!
Text Sources: