The ‘Mother’ of Interior Design

One of the nation’s first professional interior designers, Candace Wheeler helped establish the art of the American Interior.

A circa 1870 portrait of American interior designer Candace Wheeler and a sample of her designed daffodil textile produced by the Associated Artists from 1883 to 1900. Public Domain

Run your hand across a sofa cushion. Feel the coolness of linen, the softness of velvet, the weight of leather. That instinct to reach out and touch is reshaping the world of interior design. From plush chenille to crisp cotton, consumers are reaching for fabrics that feel personal and grounding. Materials that don’t just fill a room but anchor it with warmth.

Fabric is the foundation of any well-designed space: It carries color across upholstery, filters light through drapery, and cushions feet with thick carpets. And, in a nod to the past, even the age-old art of tapestry is finding its place in today’s home. This desire for comforting textiles feels entirely modern, yet America’s relationship with fabric has been carefully woven over centuries.

Beauty With Purpose

The thread leads back to 19th-century America and to one remarkable woman who changed the way a nation thought about its homes. In the decades following the Civil War, the United States was not only rebuilding but redefining itself: industry expanded, cities grew, and wealth accumulated. Yet culturally, the nation still looked to Europe for artistic authority. Into this moment stepped Candace Wheeler, a designer whose work helped Americans imagine domestic environments that were refined, expressive, and distinctly their own.