John Fowler: Prince of Decorators [Hardcover]

Martin Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2007

John Fowler was an interior decorator who set fashions and changed tastes. The English country house style, which he developed with Sibyl Colefax and Nancy Lancaster, his partners in the firm of Colefax & Fowler, has proved a source of continuing inspiration to decorators and home-owners on both sides of the Atlantic and indeed across the world. Today, a hundred years after his birth, his influence is almost as powerful as it was in the mid 20th century, when he was working on many of Britain's finest and most famous houses, including Uppark, Chequers and Buckingham Palace, as well as dozens of more modest projects. Fowler's style has been so widely imitated that it is easy to forget what an innovator he was. In the 1930s and 1940s his style was a breath of fresh country air, sweeping away heavy velvets and damasks in favour of crisp cotton chintzes, replacing glossy mahogany with painted Regency furnishings, elaborate porcelain and glitzy ormolu with modest pottery and painted tin. Even after the war, when he came to specialize in the decoration of architecturally important interiors, he continued to prefer 'humble elegance' and 'romantic disrepair' to pomposity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A must for devotees of great decoration. -- Veranda Magazine

John Fowler (1901-1997) was by far the most influential designer of the 20th century. With his partners in the firm Colefax and Fowler, he is credited with creating the English country house style. Frances Lincoln has released the ultimate guide to Fowler and his work. "John Fowler-Prince of Decorators" by Martin Wood features 400 lush color photos and watercolors as well as historic black and white photos. This is the very first book devoted to Fowler. It presents lots of material that has never been published before about his projects.

The author explores the influences that shaped Fowler's life and career. Readers will find in-depth details on each of the individual projects. The profiled projects serve to document the evolution of his signature style over his lifetime. Following his retirement from the firm, he focused primarily on his work for the National Trust. He created designs that provided a feeling of comfort of security that have stood the test of time. The appendix has a list of his published projects.

Fresh flowers and floral designs of all sorts, including topiaries, were one of the features that were used throughout Fowler's designs. One look at the cover of this book shows that to be the case. Flowers are a signature feature of the English country style. These are used in every type of room from club rooms to libraries and entertainment areas. --Bellaonline.com

About the Author

Martin Wood is a designer of textiles, interiors and gardens who also has a winning way with words.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Frances Lincoln (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 071122711X
• ISBN-13: 978-0711227118
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #531,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT ONLY DECORATION BUT A WAY OF LIFE, November 12, 2007

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Fowler: Prince of Decorators (Hardcover)

With a remarkable memory for the smallest detail, imagination, and an appreciation of beauty, John Fowler was called "the Prince of Decorators." He may well have deserved that sobriquet, but in this lushly illustrated 240 volume we also learn that he was not a prince of a fellow.

Early in his career Fowler worked as a painter for Thornton Smith, commercial decorators. It was there that he learned to paint "the Chinese wallpapers that were so fashionable at the time", and also how to grime and distress furniture. Later, in 1928 or 1929 he set out to work on his own, often freelancing for other decorators. Following a series of commissions, a 1938 House Garden article placed Fowler among England's leading decorators. Rising from a salaried painter to this position in a decade was quite a feat.

More success followed as he joined Sybil Colefax in 1938. He was 32; she who enjoyed stature as a society hostess was 64. However, their alliance was dramatically affected with the outbreak of war when decorating all but stopped. After Sybil Colefax's death the firm of Colefax & Fowler was acquired by Nancy Lancaster, a Virginian whose work is thought of as "English style." She was to teach Fowler much about comfort and scale, "how large houses could be used and enjoyed in the modern world."

Fowler, who died in 1977, had an enviable client list. He transformed some of the most famous houses in England, and was commissioned by Buckingham Palace. The style created by the team of Colefax & Fowler endures today, English Country House Style represents not only decoration but a way of life. Many try to emulate it but none capture it as did John Fowler.

Those with an interest in twentieth century design will treasure this keepsake volume.

- Gail Cooke

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just pretty photographs, November 27, 2007

By 

R. Scott Pettit "Rather Be Reading" (Aurora, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Fowler: Prince of Decorators (Hardcover)

I'm addicted to "house books", just as I'm addicted to houses. John Fowler has always been someone whose work I admire, and this book does an excellent job of charting his background and development as a designer. It's not necessarily a book you'll buy to get ideas for curtains from - but you'll understand better why his rooms were more comfortable, suitable and attractive than anyone else's before or since.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Colorful and Warm Cover...but..., December 17, 2007

By 

colorful-one (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Fowler: Prince of Decorators (Hardcover)

I was dissapointed with the lack of quality "full page color photos" inside this book. One can not get a sense of the cozy details in Fowler's designs, in the pics represented within. I found the book mostly a biographical story rather than an inspirational journey through Fowler's career. Don't be fooled by the intimacy presented on the cover...once inside you might be surprised by the lack of warmth.