Sister Parish Design: On Decorating

Discover how to bring to your home the classic American style of Parish-Hadley, the design firm known for decorating the Kennedy White House.

“This is a book all decorating habitués would like. Susan Crater and Libby Cameron take you inside the rarefied world of decorating to show you how you can achieve a range of fresh looks that have never gone out of style, full of color, charm, and lasting comfort.” —Mario Buatta

Comfort is the essential element of a successful interior and the hallmark of the Parish-Hadley style. In Sister Parish Design, Susan B. Crater, Sister’s granddaughter, and Libby Cameron, Sister’s last protégé, draw on their experience to explain how you can translate the Parish-Hadley influence into inspired surroundings. Here, in a series of lively conversations they conducted with the leading decorators of today, many of them former graduates of Parish-Hadley Associates, much is revealed about how today’s top decorators approach their work and what they consider important in creating spaces that are versatile, original, and truly livable.

Sister Parish is the iconic American decorator of her generation, recognized for her classic yet colorful and inviting environments, which fused charm with an understates English country-house look. Her use of flowered chintzes, overstuffed armchairs, and damask sofas, combined with such unexpected items as patchwork quilts, painted furniture, knitted throws, and rag rugs, is credited with popularizing American country style during the 1960s. Known for seamlessly mixing patterns and a passion for bold use of color, the Sister Parish style lives on today as an influence on a younger generation.

Illustrated with watercolors by Mita Corsini Bland that invoke Sister’s timely interiors, this is more than just a stunning book. It is an inspirational resource for making a comfortable, stylish, inviting home responsive to the people who live in it everyday.

“A treasure trove of conversational tidbits, priceless decorating tips, and equally priceless tales. The most useful seductive design book I’ve ever picked up—and one I did not want to put down.” —Julia Reed, author of Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties and contributing editor at Vogue and Newsweek