E15: English Drawing Room of the Modern Period, 1930s

Narcissa Niblack Thorne, creator of the Thorne Rooms, combined a deep knowledge of design history with a vivid imaginative sensibility. In the 1930s, she assembled a team of skilled artisans in Chicago to construct a series of intricately detailed interiors at the scale of one inch to one foot (1:12).

Conceived as a visual history of interior design, the rooms are at once scholarly and inventive. Meticulously researched and carefully composed, they balance historical accuracy with artistic interpretation. Each atmospheric interior feels like a stage set awaiting its occupants—two parts fantasy, one part history, and entirely absorbing.

Entry from Fannia Weingartner, Miniature Rooms: The Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago, 2nd ed. (The Art Institute of Chicago, 2004):

15: English Drawing Room of the Modern Period, 1930s
In planning this interior, Mrs. Thorne was free of the constraints of history. She was dealing with her own time and could base her creation on direct observation. “I have followed no school of design,” she confessed, “and I have allowed myself complete liberty of expression.”
On visits to various London homes, she admired combinations of old and new, “modernized, simplified backgrounds—fine Georgian mantels and doors undisturbed . . . many interesting uses of mirrors for reflection and brilliance.” And she noted that the “vogue of the hour is Rococo wall treatment with modernized traditional furniture and, here and there, rare antique pieces.”
Many of these elements are reflected in this interior. The ornament and color scheme were inspired by a portrait of King Edward VIII, a copy of which hangs over the mantel. Prince-of-Wales plumes and a shell motif form the Rococo design on the light gray walls, while the velvet curtains reflect the color of the king’s robes.
Viewed from the perspective of the preceding interiors, this room appears as a contemporary expression of aesthetic standards—classical proportion, restraint, elegance—established in England by Wren, Adam, and Soane. In its distillation of earlier styles, the room expresses the essential conservatism of English design during the first half of the twentieth century.
The very simple upholstered sofa and chairs work well with adaptations of eighteenth-century Chinese Chippendale examples (the chairs and table to the right), the severe interpretation of Rococo plasterwork, the glass and chromium table and screen, and the venetian blinds. Modern materials reappear in the dining room through the door at the right, where a chromium-topped table on glass legs is set for dinner with contemporary appointments.
Mrs. Thorne had her reservations about “the early packing box type of furniture,” as she put it. Referring to the machine-age aesthetic, she firmly rejected the notion of “chairs made of tortured plumbers’ pipe, camouflaged with a wash of chromium and upholstered in slippery leather.” But she allowed that “when modern furnishings suggest sumptuous simplicity by the use of rich materials and effective coloring, I am keenly enthusiastic.” This interior is a clear expression of her enthusiasm.
Through the windows, a deep blue night sky sparkles with the lights of Clarence Terrace seen across Regent’s Park.
This room measures 17 x 27 x 21 inches.