Sister Parish

The Yellow Oval Room at the White House during the administration of President John F. Kennedy, as decorated by Sister Parish.Sister Parish (born Dorothy May Kinnicutt; July 15, 1910 – September 8, 1994) was an American interior decorator and socialite. She was the first practitioner brought in to decorate the Kennedy White House, a position soon entrusted to French interior decorator Stéphane Boudin. Despite Boudin's growing influence, Parish's influence can still be seen at the White House, particularly in the Yellow Oval Room.

Early life Sister Parish was born Dorothy May Kinnicutt on July 15, 1910, in Morristown, New Jersey. Her parents were G. Hermann Kinnicutt and May Appleton Tuckerman. Parish was born at home in a four poster bed. Her paternal grandfather was Francis Kinnicutt, Edith Wharton's doctor and close friend. In addition to their New Jersey house, the family had homes in Manhattan, Maine, and Paris.

As a child, Parish attended the Peck School in New Jersey, in the fall and spring. During the winter, she attended Chapin School in New York.

Early career The Great Depression tightened the family's finances and in 1933 the 23 year old opened a decorating business. Parish spent $10,000 redecorating the home; the cost enraged Jack Kennedy. The Kennedys had to restore the house to its previous look before vacating. Parish used the Georgetown living room she had previously designed as a blueprint for the West Sitting Hall, painting everything off-white, installing bookcases for Jackie's collection of art books and paintings.

Parish and Jackie spent the entire budget of $50,000 allocated for the redecoration of the White House on the private quarters in the first two weeks. Winterthur Museum Director Charles Montgomery suggested the formation of a committee to acquire antique furnishings for the White House.

Much of Parish's work updating the White House was simple, like rehanging curtains inside rather than outside moldings. Hadley became a full partner two years later. Parish and [Hadley] would continue to work together until Parish's death in 1994. According to Harold Simmons, "Parish-Hadley influenced a whole generation of decorators and many of the top New York decorators went through the firm at some point in their careers." The Freedom Quilting Bee was born in the Civil Rights Movement as a way for poor black craftswomen to earn money for their families. Many of the group's members participated in Civil Rights demonstrations. Parish-Hadley collaborated with the Freedom Quilting Bee from 1967 to 1969, bringing old-fashioned quilts to high style publications. The partnership ended naturally with the Freedom Quilting Bee moving on to other contracts and Parish-Hadley moving on to other looks.

Parish and Hadley stocked handwoven Irish rugs and baskets and other crafts in a small invitation-only shop on New York's Upper East Side. As the items were photographed in magazines, they spread into the mainstream.

Style Parish is widely considered to have originated what became known as American country style. and sometimes intentionally placed items off center.

A 1999 Architectural Digest article described Parish's style: "Her interiors as a rule were refreshingly unstudied, unself-conscious, and unstrained...A Sister Parish room overflowed, to be sure—but buoyantly. It was romantic and whimsical but not sentimental; and, always, it was light—the rug might be Aubusson, the mirror Chippendale and the chandelier Waterford, but she undercut these "brand names" with all manner of charming distractions. Her living rooms lived: They were friendly to the world..."

In 1994, House Beautiful editor Lou Gropp said, "There is no question that Sister Parish was one of the biggest influences on decorating in the United States. She dominated the decorating of the 1970s and '80s, and many of her ideas that were fresh and new in the 1970s are now in the mainstream of American decorating."

Signature elements of the Parish look included painted floors, Anglo-Franco furniture, painted furniture, chintz, needlepoint pillows, mattress ticking, hooked rugs, rag rugs, starched organdy, botanical prints, painted lampshades, white wicker, quilts, and baskets.

According to a 2000 New York Times article, "If you have a quilt, you probably owe it to Mrs. Parish."

Her work influenced Ralph Lauren and Martha Stewart.

Notable clients Jacqueline and John Kennedy Sarah, Duchess of York Brooke Astor Jane and Charles Engelhard Babe and Bill Paley Betsey and Jock Whitney Ann and Gordon Getty

Later life Parish stayed on as a partner in the firm into her 80s. She died September 8, 1994, in Maine.