Before she was an acclaimed novelist, Edith Wharton achieved recognition for her The Decoration of Houses, a manual on interior decoration produced in collaboration with architect Ogden Codman, Jr.  Prior to its publication, interior decoration had been a discipline much like dressmaking, which was reflected in the use of heavy drapery, overstuffed furniture and prominence of Victorian lace and bric-a-brac.  Codman and Wharton argued that interiors should instead be approached much like architecture, and thus room design should be approached with a classical sense of simple lines, proportion, symmetry, and balance.  In doing so they helped guide away from the Victorian penchant for elaborate details, busy wallpaper and fabric designs, and clutter and stuffiness in general.

The book is organized in sixteen chapters, with the first chapters outlining general principles and the following chapters detailing the suggested arrangement of specific rooms for maximum comfort and usefulness. The Decoration of Houses is considered a seminal work in the creation of the discipline of interior design. 

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