In 1960, Tom Parr, described by some as ‘one of the last of the gentleman decorators’, ‘decorator’ a term he preferred to ‘interior designer’, previously in partnership with David Hicks, acquired a significant shareholding in Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, now Colefax & Fowler; he was subsequently appointed chairman. John Fowler, by now increasingly involved in his role as adviser on historic properties to the National Trust, was winding down his work for private clients and was content to leave the leadership of the company to Tom Parr.