Trend Focus: Art Deco In Interior Design

Art Deco colours

The beating heart of Art Deco is its use of colour. These tones are bold and eye-catching while remaining rich and versatile.

Black and gold

Perhaps one of the most famous colour combinations in Art Deco décor – and potentially interior design in general – is black and gold. As we said in our recent Black and Gold blog, these colours are “one of the finest partnerships of tones you could hope to enjoy in your home”. It’s the purest example of blemish free elegance and sophistication.

Black and gold aren’t the only colours that produce an Art Deco space however – there are even more we must mention.

Teal and Art Deco interior design

After our dynamic duo of colours, teal sits firmly in third place. When coupled with a luscious material such as velvet, you’ll not only make an art deco statement, but one of timeless refinement. Learn more about how to best use teal in our Totally Teal blog.

Rich tones

Other favourites available to Art Deco enthusiasts are rich tones of yellows, greens, reds and blues. Equally popular is pink which, like those just listed, looks amazing when found in velvet. Explore our range of velvet Roman blinds to find the perfect shade for your décor.

To learn more about the different styles of velvet available, we’ve recently published our Types of Velvet blog which explores this most luxurious of materials.

Art Deco’s streamlined shapes

Many of the most popular iterations of Art Deco, regardless of where it’s applied, use a lot of straight lines, overlapping to create dramatic angles and geometric shapes.

Whether you look at an Art Deco Parisian ballroom or a promotional picture of Leonardo Di Caprio as Jay Gatsby, you’ll instantly notice the overlapping lines and sharp angles synonymous with today’s theme.

How to use Art Deco shapes

These shapes are found not only in patterned woods and soft furnishings, many of those same pieces of furniture or decoration feature neat, sweeping lines, for example rectangular tables or Roman blinds.

To break up these shapes, Art Deco interiors make selective use of contrasting curves. This is best embodied in the famous Art Deco shells.

Art Deco window dressings

Focusing on the windows, angular furnishings – especially Roman blinds and panel blinds will contribute toward a charming Art Deco interior. Using on-trend colours of deep yellows, reds, greens and blues in your blinds will cement the excitement of 1920’s chic even more!

If you’d rather enjoy a well-made curtain in your space, you can also find striking and bold Art Deco geometric patterned curtains on the website.

Luxurious Art Deco lighting

Lighting is a core component of Art Deco interior design. The movement coincided with a post war period of celebration, frolicking and parties with many Art Deco interiors being enjoyed once the sun went down.

To ensure the glittering dresses and sparkling glassware had light to interact with, lamps were used to a great extent and to greater effect.

The history of Art Deco lighting

During the 20s and 30s, the metallic lamps and giant chandeliers illuminated revellers but today, such light fittings may be a little bit much, or too expensive. This doesn’t mean however that you can’t enjoy a flavour of the Gatsby epoch in a more modern format.

Tips for achieving this look in the modern home

Similarly to our Art Deco inspired curtains, you can find many patterned lamp shades – and matching cushions – to add a touch of immortal style to your homes. If you’d prefer to keep to a block colour, there are plenty of options that will work just as well! Selecting a lamp shade in tones of teal, gold and black – or dark anthracite grey – will add as equally graceful a statement as a pattern.

To play with the use of metal in historic light fittings, you can even consider selecting a metal inner which not only looks sublime, but also adds a warming feeling to the light.

How to make an art deco living room

Art deco can be used in any room throughout the home, but let’s use the lessons we’ve learnt to create a model living room. This will serve as an example of how to easily add a touch of art deco chic into your décor.

Let’s start in the centre of our art deco living room. Here, we want to see a large rectangular coffee table, with a chic glossy finish. This can be wood coloured or if you’re feeling brave, deep black. Either side of the table, look to comfy sleek sofas and chairs. Here you can have a lot of fun with colour, opting for something cool and collected in a dark tone, or something bright and fun – just remember, its mostly about the shape! 

Moving outwards, we find the walls. Here you can enjoy plenty of art deco pictures in dark frames set onto white painted walls. Finally, fitted within the window’s recess, we find an exciting, patterned Roman blind in a classic black and gold colour scheme – nothing could be more Gatsby for an art deco living room! 

The best materials for art deco interiors

Art deco in interior design is all about richness and the first material for you to consider must be velvet. Velvet has a timeless richness to it and when combined with black or dark blue, it becomes the archetypal art deco material. 

In a close second, silk is a superb art deco material. Retaining the same feeling of quality, but in a softer – more delicate way – silk will glimmer and shine within your space, creating a truly decadent décor.  

While velvet and silk are perfect for this décor, there is nothing holding back other materials including wool, linen, or even recycled fabrics. As long as it’s of good quality, and is the right colours or patterns, you can enjoy almost any art deco material