{"id":531166,"date":"2024-08-07T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/?p=531166"},"modified":"2024-08-07T10:30:46","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T14:30:46","slug":"interior-decoration-history-brooklyn-albert-korber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/interior-decoration-history-brooklyn-albert-korber\/","title":{"rendered":"Albert Korber and the Business of the Artful Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the first time a caveman or woman drew pictures on the walls and brought some flowers into the cave to brighten up the place, we\u2019ve been decorating where we live. Today the interior design industry is booming more than ever before. The trade and niche magazines show us the best of the best, usually with designer names and expensive furnishings and materials. There are all kinds of decorator blogs and websites and there\u2019s Pinterest, Instagram, and television. Most major cities have a \u201cdecorator district\u201d with showrooms and businesses of all kinds catering \u201cto the trade,\u201d and some people can\u2019t imagine furnishing their homes without the aid of an interior decorator or designer.<\/p>\n

Who would imagine that a television network that only broadcasts design, renovation, or house-hunting shows would host many of the tastemakers of the day and be lucrative and popular enough to inspire other shows and even other networks? The programs have made some of their hosts household names and multi-million-dollar celebrities. We wouldn\u2019t have \u201copen plan\u201d houses or see shiplap sold in Home Depot if it weren’t for HGTV. Even though most people realize that the \u201creality\u201d in most of these shows is contrived, we still love the reveal. <\/p>\n

\"vintage
A circa 1882-1895 card for Lang and Nau, purveyors of fine furniture and goods at 292 and 294 Fulton Street. Image via Brooklyn Museum<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>

The interest in home decoration goes back centuries throughout the world, but in the United States, it really came into its own in the latter half of the 19th century. The period after the Civil War was a perfect storm of many different societal changes. The greatest of these were the advances in technology, mass production and products, and the growth of the middle class, who eagerly bought whatever they could. <\/p>\n %<\/span><\/span> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> Single Page<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prominent 19th century Brooklyn designer Albert Korber decorated Park Slope’s swank Montauk Club and was known for reimagining older homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11099,"featured_media":531919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"schneps_byline":"","schneps_post_style":"","schneps_post_source":"","schneps_syndicated_read_more":"","schneps_post_source_sitename":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_html":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_src":"","schneps_post_source_shortname":"","schneps_post_source_url":"","schneps_post_source_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7646],"tags":[34736,34735,6267],"districts":[],"class_list":["post-531166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-181-clinton-avenue","tag-albert-korber","tag-montauk-club"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Albert Korber and the Business of the Artful Home","url":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/interior-decoration-history-brooklyn-albert-korber\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/interior-decoration-history-brooklyn-albert-korber\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wallpaper-cooper-hewitt-american-wall-paper-manufacturer-1880s-korber.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/wallpaper-cooper-hewitt-american-wall-paper-manufacturer-1880s-korber.jpg"},"articleSection":"History","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suzanne Spellen"}],"creator":["Suzanne Spellen"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Brownstoner","logo":""},"keywords":["181 clinton avenue","albert korber","montauk club"],"dateCreated":"2024-08-07T14:00:00Z","datePublished":"2024-08-07T14:00:00Z","dateModified":"2024-08-07T14:30:46Z"},"rendered":"