ART DECO DESIGN

While we are away at High Point Furniture Market I thought I'd share a few blasts from the past.  Enjoy, and we'll catch up when we return!

Of all the design periods in history, Art Deco had to be one of the most short lived. Born in a time of luxury and decadence, the golden age of ocean liners, cocktails and jazz bands, art deco was too soon a causality of the austerity which was ushered in by WWII.

The Hollywood take on AD usually involved mirrors, lots and lots of mirrors.

 Essentially an eclectic style, art deco emphasized modernity, the latest techniques in manufacturing, sleek streamline forms and geometric patterns, making it a design style which can easily be integrated into a contemporary home.  To my personal delight, art deco in it's simplicity, blends almost seamlessly with the mid century modern style Braxton and I love so much.

Perhaps my favorite art deco inspired room.  Black and white always work in a bathroom, don't they?

 Art Deco is essentially a blending of American and French aesthetics, thanks to the expatriated American artists and dreamers who flocked to Paris in the 1920's, a subject which obviously requires it's own post later in the week.

 The Art Deco style represented elegance, glamour, and modernity, all of which soon became unfashionable due to the drastic economic changes brought on by the collapse of the stock market in 1929.

This and the following two pictures are of a modern art deco inspired hotel bar in Florida.  I'll be in the corner sipping a Gin and Tonic and listening to the jazz band!

 The following four pictures are from the Barbara Berry Collection for Baker Furniture....just to demonstrate how a modern take on art deco, which BB does quite well, can seem fresh and modern today.

 Based on geometric shapes, art deco's inspirations were presumed to be modern aviation, electric lighting, ocean liners and sky scrapers.  Most of the train stations built in the U. S. during the 20's were fantastic art deco structures, and much of the modern architecture so famous in Chicago, is at least AD inspired, if not actually of that day.
Now that our youngest daughter has moved to Chicago for Grad school, Braxton and I can't wait to visit and take the tour.  Sarah has said that native Chicagoans (?) love to show off their knowledge of the local architecture.  Have you been to Chicago to see the famous buildings?  Please tell.

The following pictures are of art deco (or AD inspired) poster art.  I would love to do an entire post on AD art, we'll see if I have time.

As you can probably tell, I'm just a little bit excited about this weeks muse!  If you have anything to add, or anything you'd like for me to research, let me know.
Have a beautiful swell day.
YANCEY