Michael Taylor’s Design Legacy

I must admit, I had never heard of Designer Michael Taylor until I learned that Baltimore author Stephen Salny wrote a book on him, Michael Taylor Interior Design, which he’s discussing on Monday evening at the Corcoran Gallery. But now I realize why Architectural Digest counts him among the world’s 20 greatest designers of all time:

Such drama! I'm sure Dorothy Draper must have been influenced by him. All photographs courtesy of the book publisher, W.W. Norton

If I didn't know better, I'd think this came from The Greenbriar.

An early portrait of man himself. Michael Taylor was born in 1927 and died in 1986.

I’m bummed that I can’t be at the lecture on Monday night, but I had a nice telephone conversation with Stephen Salny the other day, to told me how he came to discover Taylor’s work. Salny, who does real estate management by day, first wrote a book on the famed Chicago Architect David Adler in the ’90s — after he first fell in love with Adler’s houses as a student at Lake Forest College in the ’70s.

That book led to a second book on Adler’s sister, the equally talented and reputable Frances Elkins. Taylor, a protege of Elkins, was the next logical subject. “From one book to the other, it’s been an odyssey,” he told me. “I had never written a book before in my whole life, and to write three books in eight years is kind of incredible.”

Taylor, he explained, was the creator of the California Look, which brings the outside in to sweeping, open spaces. Think huge, overscale furniture with frequent additions of boulders, wicker, and lots and lots of plants.

Taylor worked with some of the wealthiest families in the country, who could afford real estate just as dramatic as Taylor's designs.

Black walls, chintz, and wicker. Nothing if not memorable.

Salny visited the dozens of interiors Taylor created, most of which haven't been changed a bit since they were installed decades ago.

Along with the casual furniture, Salny said, “he wasn’t afraid to put a two-ton boulder next to a chinoiserie antique. The rare made the mundane more special, and the mundane made the rare less precious.” This type of thing is done all the time these days, but Taylor was the pioneer.

Taylor paid no attention to price tags, often making clients blanche at how he spent their money. But Salny says those prices are petty change compared to what their pieces are worth today.

I love toile, but all this toile? You can tell Taylor was not shy with his patterns.

“Michael wasn’t going to work for you unless he felt you had the mentality and the guts to ride the storm with him,” Salny said. I think I can understand what he’s talking about now.

A later portrait of Taylor, who was one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS.

Salny, whose book on Taylor came out last year, will be sharing his thoughts on Taylor’s work at the Corcoran, in addition to some great anecdotes about how he interacted with his clients. I’m sure it will be a fascinating evening, and I only wish I could be there! I will leave you now with the cover of his book and Salny’s own portrait, and bid you a good weekend.

Stephen Salny