The moment will finally arrive when you begin to pull the whole scheme together, and what has been a medley of dreams, headaches, heartaches, and worries will become a totally realized design, with an aura and an atmosphere of its own. William Pahlmann, 1967

{HISTORY}

As one of the most influential interior designers of the 20th century, William Pahlmann (1900-1987) offered a lot of commonsense advice when it came to decorating. Credited with being the first to incorporate the eclectic style of mismatching domestic eras, furniture designs, patterns, and textures, he favored bright color palettes, classic form, and individuality in expression.  

Equating interior trends to the passing fads of fashion, William shied away from embracing the buzzy-ness of emerging 20th century design trends.  Instead, he demonstrated how classic pieces from any era could harmoniously come together in a room in both fresh and unexpected ways.

Beginning his career at Parsons School of Design (then known as the New York School of Applied and Fine Arts) in New York City in the 1920s and continuing his education in Paris, William's unique design aesthetic garnered early attention after a high profile commissioning in the1930s. A career that led him through a job in the home furnishings department at Lord & Taylor eventually paved the way to opening his own design firm in NYC in the 1940s. Tackling commissions for the hospitality industry, as well as private residences and corporate offices for the next several decades, William worked on many influential projects both in NYC, including the decoration of The Four Seasons restaurant, as well as international assignments. 

At the heart of his work was his interest in teaching aspiring decorators how to achieve his style of design. In 1955, he published The Pahlmann Book of Interior Design, taking readers room by room through the intuitive decorative design process step by step from furniture selection to art and textile curation to the inclusion of creature comforts. By cutting through elitist ideas, lofty ambitions, and nonsensical fad-forward design choices, William in his book, eloquently broke down key components of timeless interior design that make rooms livable, functional, and beautiful without sacrificing unique style or a fresh approach.

By stressing individuality, personal taste and the appeal of specific colors, shapes, textures, and patterns, alongside key components that make any room inherently functional and comfortable, William exposed some universal trade practices that naturally create inviting spaces.  In William's world, no two homes ever looked exactly the same. No two rooms were ever copy-cat versions of one another. And no two decorators ever approached a project with the same exact set of raw materials.  Real taste doesn't "follow the leader," he shares in Chapter Two, but he goes on to explain that by using some strategic foundational principles a room can be built up to create a truly remarkable and individualistic finished space. 

Revised in 1960 and 1968, The Pahlmann Book of Interior Design kept up with changing lifestyles and addressed interior design needs, wants and accessibility according to how the world was evolving. 1955 was quite a different place than 1968 and William addressed those changes with each revision of his book.

Peppered throughout with color and black and white photography, employs design helps for every room of the house, with special considerations for apartment, suburban, and country lifestyles and space requirements. An award-winning designer throughout his career, William's work still resonates with how the interior design world operates today, proving that there will always be a place for classic style and personalized design in interior spaces, no matter the decade or the century. 

Now hard to find, The Pahlmann Book of Interior Design reflects one award-winning designer's influential quest to create interior spaces that, in his words, are not only "simple and sensible but sing with personality.”

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1968 Edition
• 252 pages
• Includes original dust jacket
• Illustrated throughout with color and black and white photography

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this book is clean and bright throughout. There is foxing at some corners of the color plates and a few pages within the text. The dust jacket contains one small rip on the front, some wrinkling and scuff marks along the top and bottom edges, and some slight fading on the dust jacket spine. The navy and tan coverboards are very clean and bright. A previous owner's name has been crossed out with black marker on the front inside endpaper. Please see photos.

{SIZE}

Measures 10.25" inches (length) x 8" inches (width) x 1" inch (thickness) and weighs 2.3 lbs

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