Art Deco Interior Design

Art Deco Chandelier

The design period known as Art Deco encompasses roughly the years between 1920 to 1940, although it can be loosely interpreted, especially in Europe where the period extends back as far as 1900. Following closely on the heels of the flowing, flowery Art Nouveau style, Art Deco eschewed the sinuous lines of Alphonse Mucha in favor of more geometric figures. Straight lines, angles and circles replaced the sensuous curves that marked the Art Nouveau style in every aspect, from architecture to furniture to jewelry and art. Art deco interior design was a marked change that went hand in hand with the modern art movement and the cubism style made popular by Pablo Picasso.

A popular style in American train stations and public buildings such as New York's Chrysler building, Art Deco also made its way into the living rooms and bedrooms of America and Europe. Using unique and unusual materials such as aluminum brass and highly lacquered wood, there was often a distinct Asian flavor to much of the design, utilizing marquetry, inlaid sunbursts and other symbols as well as brightly colored enamels. Cantilevered legs on chairs and tables were common and the combination of curves and angles reflected the Western world's move toward modernism.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright was an early student of Art Deco, as is reflected in his magnificent buildings, and he took the design style to heart, bringing it indoors with his semi-circular, slat-backed hardwood dining chairs and Art Deco sofas in pastel leather. The Frank Lloyd Wright designs, including the famous barrel chair, have been licensed and are available to decorators and private individuals alike. They are pricey, but owning a Wright designed piece of furniture truly is like owning a piece of art history.

Art deco lamps can be had either antique or new. The vintage versions often feature elegant nude or scantily clad damsels crafted from art metal, a mixture of tin, lead, iron and steel with a pewter-like finish. The bobbed haired ladies lounge by glowing bulbs or hold balls aloft or tug at the leash of a borzoi dog while passing beneath an overhead light with a colorful glass shade. These wonderful pieces inspired the phrase "functional art" which remains with us today.

Before television, posters were a popular means of advertising and there are no better examples of commercial art than the beautiful Art Deco posters hawking everything from Champagne to automobiles. Stunning images of the 20th Century Limited Railroad, Holland Cruise Lines, bicycles and travel adorn these portable works of art that you can use to add color, design and thematic continuity to any room. Alternatively, pick the poster first and decorate around it.

Not all pieces of the period are portable. Art Deco fireplaces and mantles sport designs in shiny tile with burnished copper trim, or cast iron with tiered molding. Tiffany produced some spectacular fireplace surrounds, as they were called, in golden oak with carved Art Deco trim and there are replicas available on the modern market.

Not surprisingly, Tiffany jumped on the Art Deco bandwagon with gusto, creating not just the famous lamps, but also a stunning line of fine jewelry, from chandelier earrings to chunky bracelets and delicate necklaces. Art Deco watches were among the most popular items of the day, perhaps because the item's very function lent itself to any number of geometric patterns without interfering in its purpose.

Lest we forget that this was a design style born from a painting movement, there are a number of artists whose Art Deco oils and prints command some hefty prices. The Polish born Tamara de Lempicka churned out angular portraits of femme fatales using shadow and light to create angles and moods. Chunky by today's standards, these sex-pots still evoke a time of luxury and lush beauty. However, when it comes to the female form, there was no one like the Art Deco fashion illustrator Erté, whose lithe beauties adorned the 1930s pages of Harper's Bazaar and even created a series of acrobatic women who were stylishly contorted into each and every letter of the alphabet and adorned with sparkles and feathers, in true Deco style.

No matter what part of your home or your body you want to transform with Art Deco, you will have plenty of choices.

Here is a very good video about the Art Deco collection of the New York Public Library. Even though the Internet has brought us vast amounts of information about almost any topic imaginable, don't forget that your local library may be a treasure trove of valuable information related to almost anything you can imagine!