Art Deco 20s , and Art Deco Revival Now
Fabulous, sophisticated, flashy, and glamorous. The decor and architecture between 1908 and 1935 was both glitz and glorious.
Art Deco had its start in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. It was flamboyant, flashy, and fabulous, and its influence stretched from architecture through furniture and fashion to art.
The style comprised complex geometric shapes, utilized chrome, glass, satin, furs, highly polished woods, high gloss black lacquer, mirrors, and included stylish images and motifs of planes, cars, cruise liners, shells, sunrises, and flowers. Skyscraper buildings were just beginning to be built and the tops of them were highly decorative.
While the initial stages of the style were slow, evolving from Art Nouveau and Cubism — with a little bit of Hollywood — it was the period between WWI and WWII that the style dominated.
During this period, flappers were in vogue, and female emancipation broke numerous barriers. It was not unusual to see young girls wearing short dresses and smoking cigarettes — all highly ornamental. There was a good deal of experimentation in all areas.
Architecture
You’re almost sure to recognize art deco buildings once you know what to look for. The look is very distinctive, and they are quite beautiful.
Art Deco buildings have many geometrical patterns on them, have a squarish look, and tend to have some sort of ornamentation on windows, doors, and roofs on the outside. Windows often had decorative spandrels while there could be reeding and fluting around both windows and doors. Roofs tend to be either flat or have high-reaching geometric towers. The smooth walls also have set-backs so that the buildings have a layered appearance. Often, there are decorative panels built into the wall. . Skyscrapers, movie theaters, apartment buildings, railway stations, and even government buildings were built in the style during the 20s and 30s.
Here is a list of Art Deco buildings.
1. Empire State Building
2. Chrysler Building
3. Miami Beach Resort — South Beach
4. Mexico City Area
5.Rockefeller Center
6.Chicago Board of Trade Building
7. Fisher and Guardian Buildings in Detroit, USA.
8. Los Angeles City Hall.
9. Hoover Dam
10. Hoover Building, London.
11. Broadcasting House, London.
12. Victoria Coach Station, London.
13. Mossehaus, Berlin, Germany.
14. Rex Theatre, Ahens, Greece,
15. Hotel Astoria, Petersburg.
16. Cococabana Palace hotel, Rio de Janeiro
17. Eltham Palace, London.
18. Colony Hotel, Miami, Florida, USA
19. American Radiator Building, New York.
20. Folies Bergère, Paris.
Some cities like New York and Mexico City have an abundance of Art Deco building. However the style can be found in the major cities of most countries.
Art Deco Revival
Today, a century from the hey day of the art form, there is a renewed interest in Art Deco. While several buildings have been restored, most of the revival is based on interiors and furniture.
Art Deco Interiors and Furniture
Art Deco furniture had strongly angled geometric shapes with richly opulent surfaces and fabric. Patterns on fabric included chevrons, rectangles, squares, and stripes on fabrics that included brocades and silks. Fabrics also often have a gold or silver thread running through them.
Famous Art Deco furniture designers included Louis Comfort Tiffany — him of the Tiffany lamp fame — Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Scot famous for his ladder back chair, Andre Leon Arbus and Michel de Klerk from Amsterdam. While Eileen Gray and Le Corbuseur did do early pieces in the Art Deco style, their work is considered mostly ‘Modern.’ Eileen Gray’s earlier Art Deco pieces were mostly room dividers and screens for which she developed a reputation for being the best in the business.
The designs were always sophisticated, and while flamboyant, there was nothing garish about the designs. Art Deco materials were high gloss and both old and new materials were used. Examples of materials included chrome, Bakelite (a hardened plastic), plate glass,ivory, mahogany and dark lacquered surfaces. Black Lacquer was used on furniture but was particularly used on screens and room-dividers.
Art Deco Fashion and Jewelry
Rene Lalique was a glass maker who made vases, chandeliers, clocks, and ornaments for cars. In terms of fashion, he made perfume bottles and jewelry. Paul Poiret was the first designer who took this style to jewelry. Cartier followed.
Art Deco Jewellery (Lalique and Cartier) sometimes had touches of Egyptian art, sometimes was strongly geometrical and precise, and other times focused on animals and flowers of every type. It glittered and glowed, was colorful, and dominated both the precious gems and metal market and the paste market.
Clothes were androgynous with women’s breasts being suppressed. There were no more petticoats restricting movement, but rather items which allowed women to move easily and to work in them. They were also easy for the fabulous Charleston dance! Coco Chanel first started designing in the Art Deco style.
How to Decorate Your Home in Art Deco Style
- Walls during the Art Deco period were rich in texture and were often papered. Intense blues, greens, pinks, reds, and yellows would be mixed with gold, silver, black, and chrome. Patterns were geometrical. Best bets are to find a wallpaper that has a design of the period and highlight one wall. The other walls may need to be white in order to give the room a more spacious feeling, or motifs can be drawn on it by an artist. Egyptian motifs or stylized motifs of sunsets, cruise ships, or flowers were popular.
- Floors were black and white checkered or highly glossed parquet woods. Marble flooring was highly fashionable, as was linoleum in abstract designs. To cover a floor, a geometrical style rug will also fit the time period.
- Currently there is a revival of Art Deco pieces, so there is no need to shop for expense antique pieces. Some modern Art Deco designers include India Mahdavi, Antony Bianco, Michael Shoner, Hagit Pincovici, Kostas Neofitidis, and Christina Celestino. The look isn’t always as rich as it was a century ago, though.
The color palette to focus on for furniture, curtains (drapery), vases, candlesticks, picture frames, etc., are canary yellow, emerald green, peacock blue, royal purple and brilliant red. Golds and silvers are interwoven with fabrics or highlight the look. All colors are cool rather than warm.
Art Deco furniture has strongly angled geometric shapes with richly opulent fabric. Patterns on fabric include chevrons, rectangles, squares, and stripes on fabrics like brocade and silk.
If you wish to convert current pieces to have a more Art Deco look, the clue is to use the color palette by respraying or painting. You can also cover cushions or chairs with appropriate fabric. More square than round will finish the look.
4. Posters were very much part of the look in the 20s and 30s. Fortunately the artwork is in the public domain now, and there are a good number of reprints available. Framing them and putting them on your walls is another way of making this look alive.
Putting the Art Deco Look Together Today
Using the above methods, you can easily put together an art deco look. The final factor is space — sufficient open space to give rooms an airy look.
f you’re not yet a member of the Medium reading-public which enables you to read as many Medium articles as you like, you can sign up here. I would also greatly appreciate it if you could assist me in earning a living. I have struggled for a lifetime with Asperger’s, an auditory processing disorder, and the fall out of extreme abuse. I am now 71 years old, and my only source of income is my writing. I would value your kindness and generosity if you could buy me a cup of coffee at Ko-fi (3 euros) or benefit me at Patreon.
