Thomas Jayne

Thomas Jayne

March 3, 2018
3–4:30 p.m.
533 Royal Street
Admission is free. Reservations: wrc@hnoc.org or (504) 523-4662

On Saturday, March 3, The Historic New Orleans Collection will host interior designer and decorative arts historian Thomas Jayne for a presentation and book signing supporting his new release, Classical Principles for Modern Design Lessons from Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman’s The Decoration of Houses (The Monacelli Press, 2018).

In this work, Jayne takes on Edith Wharton and her co-author Ogden Codman, whose 1897 book The Decoration of Houses is acknowledged as the Bible of American interior design; Jayne himself has described their work as “the most important decorating book ever written.”

Wharton and Codman advocated for classical simplicity and balance, replacing the excesses of the Gilded Age. While supporting their fundamental ideas about creating the most harmonious and livable interiors, whether traditional or contemporary, Jayne’s authoritative and engaging text traces contemporary ideas about design elements and furnishing rooms back to Wharton and Codman and shows where his design approach coincides and where it diverges from their views. The book follows the chapter organization of The Decoration of Houses—chapters on walls, doors, windows, and curtains, ceilings and floors, etc.—and adds important new perspectives on the design of kitchens and the use of color, both major subjects that Wharton and Codman did not address.                   

Thomas Jayne is founder and principal of Jayne Design Studio. In addition to being a past speaker and current advisory committee member of THNOC’s New Orleans Antiques Forum, he has also been named to Architectural Digest’s AD100 list, which annually honors leaders in the fields of architecture and design.

Admission is free. The book, which retails for $50, will be available for purchase at the event, and the author will sign copies following his presentation. Reservations are encouraged. To register, email wrc@hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662.