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Rebel in an Ugly World

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As many of you may know, Elsie de Wolfe invented the profession of interior design in the early twentieth century. I have read tidbits about Elsie through the years. I recently read an article about Elsie and what struck me is that Elsie termed herself as a “Rebel in an Ugly World.”  I found the term a bit unusual and after reading more I was intrigued by the fact that Elsie’s mother called her ugly. Elsie didn’t really understand what ugly meant until she came home from school to find that her parents had redecorated the drawing room in a tan wallpaper with grey palm leaves and splotches of red and green in the background. Something cut like a knife inside her and cried out over and over, “It’s so ugly, It’s so ugly.” According to the Elsie de Wolfe Foundation, Elsie simply did not like Victorian – the high style of her sad childhood – and chose to banish it from her design vocabulary.

 

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I am so intriqued with the fact that Elsie grew up being labled as ugly by her mother, yet she overcame the lable and went on to bring such beauty to the homes of Anne Vanderbilt, Anne Morgan, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Henry Clay Frick.  Elsie said ” I opened the doors and windows of America, and let the air and sunshine in.”  Instead of the heavy, masculine style of the day, Elsie used light fabrics, painted wall, tiled floors and wicker chairs. She introduced America to the cocktail party, chaise lounges, faux finishes, animal prints and delicate writing tables. I am thankful that Elsie chose to rebel from her ugly past and rise to prominence by making our world a little brighter.

Image 1, Image 2

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About Leslie Hendrix Wood

Leslie Hendrix Wood is the founding editor of the luxury lifestyle and design blog, Hadley Court and an has her own interior design firm, Leslie Hendrix Wood Interiors in Midland, Texas.

Leslie received her undergraduate degree in business. She worked briefly in banking and returned to school to earn her MBA.

Upon graduation, she moved to Washington D.C. to work on a Presidential campaign and received a Presidential appointment to a position in International Trade.

At the end of the administration, Leslie returned to her hometown and joined the family oil and gas business, although her first passion has always been, after raising her children with her husband, business and interior design.

When she saw her children were closer to leaving home, she decided to start the blog, Hadley Court. in 2012, which won the Design Bloggers Conference Hall of Fame award for Best New Design Blog in 2013 - a prestigious honor granted by her peers.

In 2014, she is, in addition to blogging, beginning to build the family friendly luxury lifestyle brand: HADLEY COURT, based on her values of Gracious Living, Timeless Design and Family Traditions.

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Hadley Court is my family’s summer home where I spent my summers as a child. Every day at Hadley Court was a celebration of fine living.
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