Rose Cumming: Design Inspiration

Rose Cumming was the most flamboyant and exciting of the so-called Great Lady Decorators who invented the field of professional decorating and interior design in the early twentieth century. Flavored by surrealism and suffused with drama, her interiors were sumptuous, mixing bold colors and patterns. Her own library had emerald-green walls, a peacock -blue satin sofa, and scarlet japanned chairs. 

Cumming’s famous New York decorating and antiques shop became a stopping point for celebrated personalities such as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Andy Warhol, Rudolf Nureyev, and Jacqueline Onassis. Encompassing styles from gothic, Venetian, and Austrian baroque to early Oriental furniture, Cumming would add glittering chandeliers, birdcages, and fine carpets. Her glamorous style was reminiscent of film sets, and Marlene Dietrich and Norma Shearer were among her clients. 

This book, the first on Cumming, is a richly illustrated volume of a great American artist, whose influence is manifest in the ongoing production of Cumming-designed fabrics and wallpapers. Rose Cumming will inspire the interior designer and home decorator, both professional and amateur alike.

Jeffrey Simpson is an author and editor. For three decades, he served as contributing editor and writer for Architectural Digest. Sarah Cumming Cecil is president and principal at the Rose Cumming interior design firm and continues the design tradition established by its eponymous founder.