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Art Deco Style

By Mary Beth Temple

While what we know today as the Art Deco style hit the height of its appeal in the 1920s and 30s, it wasn’t even called Art Deco until the late 1960s, in a term coined by historian Bevis Hillier. Unveiled at the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes” in Paris, Art Deco (or Art Moderne as it is sometimes called) emphasized clean lines and crisp, geometric shapes. To get a quick visual picture of the style, think New York City in the 30s – The Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, the Waldorf-Astoria. All are shining examples of Art Deco style in architecture.

Designers who worked in the Art Deco style were popular in many media - furniture and home textiles, fashion and jewelry, and architecture. But it wasn’t just simple geometry, design elements from Egypt (King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922, fueling this trend), Ancient Rome, or the Far East made their way into the mix, albeit in a simplified, stylized state. The overriding feel of Art Deco design is one of modernity, no matter what the source material.

To achieve an Art Deco look today – first you must clear out the clutter. One or two perfect pieces better represent the era than a dozen not-quite-right ones. The era also had a sort of glossy feel to it – shiny waxed floors strewn with area rugs, furniture with a highly polished surface you could see your reflection in, densely woven textiles in silk and satin, chrome, which was just coming into vogue in this period.

There are some wonderful pieces of Art Deco accent lighting available today – although beware of reproductions. Floor lamps with architecturally styled shades, table lamps with figures, especially of nude women, and pairs of electrified sconces with pressed or cut glass shades are all representative of the period.

In addition to nudes, other popular subjects for sculpture as well as for lighting, were animals, and representations of travel – the automobile, train or airplane. Even if the piece isn’t an exact replica of one of those forms, the sleek shiny feel, and the full curves, echoing a wheel, show the effect that the newly wide-open world of transportation had on art and interior design.

Another hallmark of Art Deco style was the mirror. Mirrors are the ultimate shiny surface, and could be used to reflect all of the other wonderful items in a room. Many had frames of an architectural nature – again, think of a geometric, stepped shape, or a series of arches and decorative corners.

While we tend to think of black and white as the ultimate Art Deco color combination, it is the high contrast that makes a statement – any set of contrasting colors will do. In the bathroom, colored porcelain fixtures were just coming into vogue, and the bathtub itself was coming down off of its claw feet and being placed on the floor, often in a stepped or “ziggurat” style enclosure. A ziggurat was a tower made by the ancient Babylonians, in which each successive level was smaller than the one below it, giving the appearance of steps. Art Deco designers commandeered this idea, and it can be seen on sculpture pedestals, lamp bases, and around mirrors, as well as on bathtub enclosures.

For a fun way to research Art Deco style, consider hitting the local video store and renting a romantic comedy or musical from the 1930s. Interior designers weren’t the only ones who embraced the Style Moderne – Hollywood designers latched onto it to!

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