Jackie Kennedy's 1971 New York Apartment Was Covered in Eye-Catching Fabrics—See Inside

For House Beautiful’s 125th anniversary this year, we're digging into some of our favorite spaces from our archive—including decorator Sister Parish’s New York Apartment and the West Hollywood home and studio of designer extraordinaire Tony Duquette, dubbed "the house of a magician." Here, we revisit Jackie Kennedy’s New York apartment that featured eye-catching fabrics from 1971, which was first published in our November issue that year.

It's no surprise the beloved former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, widely known as Jackie O, had a chic home. The style icon also decorated her New York apartment with striking fabrics that supported a good cause. In 1971, House Beautiful detailed how the fabrics came to be: through a collaboration between the now-shuttered community-driven nonprofit Design Works of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn and Tillett, the favorite textile company of well-heeled socialites.

Robert F. Kennedy took special interest in Bedford-Stuyvesant as a junior Senator for New York, founding the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (along with cofounders John Lindsay, Jacob Javits, and Thomas R. Jones) after the 1964 shooting of Black teenager James Powell by an off-duty police officer, who was white. Following her brother-in-law's death, Jackie Kennedy (later Onassis) continued his support of the neighborhood with Design Works, which produced and manufactured textile designs by local creative talents.

Ahead, we revisit the story in its entirety. Learn how the fabrics were meant to help revitalize the Brooklyn neighborhood, and see how Jackie incorporated them into her own New York apartment's lush library and dining room. (You can also read about how Tillett brought back these iconic fabrics earlier this year here.)

Art Power at Work

The fabrics of Bedford Stuyvesant’s Design Works

By Natalie Schram

Bedford Stuyvesant is a [predominantly] Black community of 450,000 in Brooklyn—seven miles long—four miles wide. It was a dream of Senator Robert Kennedy to restore this community. Entire blocks are being restored, developing a sense of pride and care in those who live in the renovated houses and whose children are able to know the safety of car-free “super blocks” filled with over-sized climbable play sculptures.

The Design Works of Bedford Stuyvesant became a part of the total project when Mrs. Aristotle Onassis saw possibilities of capitalizing on the creative talents of artists already living in the area. Now, after only a year, the Design Works has its own sale and shipping facilities, print production plant, resident colorist and creative designer, all contributing to the ultimate plan—the building of a city. The designs are generally bold in concept and color with a strong African feeling—huge banana leaves on sun yellow or flame red, abstract fish scales in pale coral and white are just two of the many original designs. Heavy cotton duck. Sheer synthetics and vinyl-coated materials are being produced by the Design Works and Connaissance Fabrics is distributing them throughout the country.

Bolts of material at left show the finished products, each complementing the other in color and coordination. Above, the colorist mixes the pigment, while at top left Calister Thomas, the designer, and the production staff determine how many yards of cotton to stretch and print. Mr. and Mrs. Onassis have used the Design Works fabrics in bold prints as startling accents in their New York apartment photographed on the following pages.

Bold prints add dimension to the Onassis apartment

Jacqueline Onassis encouraged the young artists at the Design Works, then chose two favorite patterns for her family’s apartment. The library is a comfortable room where Caroline and John Kennedy, Jr., do their homework and entertain young friends. The couch, covered in sturdy cotton duck. “Large Feather,” reflects Africa but in a contemporary American design: the black and hot rust mix beautifully with Mrs. Onassis’ antique needlepoint rug, tufted chair and ancient sculptures. John Jr. made the flower container from a cola bottle, cement and shells he gathered at the beach. Greek amber beads, art books and a basket of walnuts create a personal feeling on the Chinese lacquered table.

The dining room with warm oil paintings against striated coral walls, brown velvet armchairs and cool marble fireplaces, took immediately to “Fish Head Plaid,” a dazzling geometric in bright coral, brown and white. Antique Chinese dogs hold candles, Sèvres porcelain combines with Georgian mother-of-pearl butter plates and a favored centerpiece of grapes, limes and artichokes. The contemporary prints of the Design Works give an additional dimension to the Onassis’ collection of antiques and art objects.

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