Book review of Making Space by Jane Hall

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.