Do you Art Deco?

Do you love vintage from the 1920-40s? The bold colors, clean lines, and shiny elements of Art Deco, might just be your style.

Art Deco Style Defined

Whether it’s flatware, pottery or architecture if it’s Art Deco style it is very easily recognized. The signatures of this style are lavish ornamentation, bold geometric shapes and rich colors. Art Deco designs embrace technology, probably because its emergence was during a period of rapid industrialization. Art Deco at its peak was luxurious and glamorous.

Bold Geometric Shapes

The shapes of Art Deco style are spheres, polygons, rectangles, zigzags, chevrons and sunburst motifs. Arranged in symmetrical, repeating patterns creating the bold, strong lines of this style. Think Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers in Shall We Dance – the swirls and patterns of the steps and mirrors and the 1930s movie-star glam. I can see some Art Deco influences in the Hollywood Regency style, can you?

Rich Colors

The colors of this style are typically vivid. Color combinations tend to have a high contrast. Start with a base of black and white and add a punch of red or deep brown.

Elements of Art Deco

Modern materials are the key elements of Art Deco style. Plastic, chrome, stainless steel, aluminum, glass block, neon, porcelain tile, mirrors, opaque glass panels, and Bakelite are frequently used. Just about any high-gloss finish will fit with this style.

You can easily see Art Deco design in many vintage items. Art Deco first appeared in France just before World War I. It went on to flourish in the 1920s, 1930s and the 1940s. It was used in many consumer products including cars, furniture, china, textiles, jewelry, lighting, clocks, radios and telephones. Mass produced, utilitarian items were clearly influenced by Art Deco style. You can see many of these in the Etsy treasury I created for this post.
If you want to incorporate some or a lot of Art Deco style into your home, check out this post, 10 Hot Trends for Adding Art Deco into your Interiors. I’d love to hear what you like about this style, leave your thoughts and questions in comments section and don’t forget to check out my Pinterest board, Art Deco Style Defined.