Sister Parish
Sister Parish (born Dorothy May Kinnicutt; July 15, 1910 – September 8, 1994) was an American interior decorator and socialite.
[1] Parish's name led to some confusion, with one newspaper proclaiming: ''Kennedys Pick Nun to Decorate White House.
[9] 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.
[4][7][10] Winterthur Museum Director Charles Montgomery suggested the formation of a committee to acquire antique furnishings for the White House.
[1] Parish and DuPont concentrated on including American Federalist furniture in the Sheraton and Hepplewhite styles.
[11] Much of Parish's work updating the White House was simple, like rehanging curtains inside rather than outside moldings.
As part of her redesign, Parish added a kitchen, pantry and dining room to the family unit on the second floor.
Prior to this remodel, the First family had to go downstairs to the kitchen that serviced the State Dining Room whenever they wanted something to eat.
[8] Through Parish, Steuben Glass Works offered a donation of crystal that Jackie refused in favor of Morgantown Glassware Guild in West Virginia.
[9] After Parish and Kennedy fell out, Boudin returned to the White House to add his French style to the private rooms.
[12] The firm was a training ground for dozens of designers now acclaimed in their own right including Bunny Williams and Thom Filicia.
[1] Parish and Hadley worked with quilters from Selma, Alabama, in the late 1960s to develop patchwork quilted yard goods.
[14] The Freedom Quilting Bee was born in the Civil Rights Movement as a way for poor black craftswomen to earn money for their families.
[16] 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.
[14] In 1988 Sarah, Duchess of York, hired Parish to decorate a new country house near Windsor Castle.
Queen Elizabeth II later rescinded the assignment in favor of an English designer, but just getting in the door was considered a triumph.
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.
