Decorating living rooms, or even entire living spaces, in the Art Deco style has always found its fans because the resulting home is incredibly vibrant, rich, and elegant. However, one should be prepared for the fact that decorating such an interior will not be budget-friendly and will require significant financial investment.
Common features of Art Deco style
The Art Deco style represents a subtle and refined luxury that is particularly suitable for decorating a living room. Unexpected geometric shapes, Egyptian and African motifs, simplicity and strictness of lines, luxurious external finishes, expensive exotic materials – all of these are characteristics of the Art Deco design.
Art Deco represents a style from the 1930s, which was very characteristic of America and France at that time. The luxurious atmosphere of this style permeated practically all interiors of huge transatlantic liners and wealthy clubs during the jazz age, and it was even referred to as the style of the Ritz hotel.
Expensive and well-processed types of wood such as wenge, ebony or rosewood are often used in interior decoration. Furniture is often inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ivory or even turtle shell. Exotic leather is used for finishing.
Overall, Art Deco is a style that emphasizes the shine of gold, large decor, and eastern motifs. Stained glass and colored glass items, bay windows and top lighting are characteristic of Art Deco. The sun motif is a particularly noteworthy decorative element.
The color scheme, ornament, materials and finishing
Art Deco style implies not only rich and expensive materials, but also remarkable practicality and functionality. All materials used in decorating the living room are not just expensive, but also high-quality, so they last a long time.
Traditional color combinations in Art Deco style are contrast between black or dark brown shades with white shades (light beige, cream, milk) as well as separate elements of steel or gold color. If desired, a rich shade of purple or dark blue can be preferred for contrasting color spots. If the furniture is dark, the walls should be light.
Tip! When designing in the Art Deco style, it is not recommended to use decorative ultra-modern elements, but Greek meanders, Egyptian lotuses or Eastern ornaments will look great.
Do not use plastic or drywall for finishing such a living room. The walls should be decorated with a large ornament, although quality wallpaper can also be chosen. For example, an original texture created by hot embossing will look good, such as relief thin stripes arranged vertically and horizontally.
Zigzags on the walls look interesting and create the impression that you are looking at a canvas with a printed pattern. Of course, the pattern should not be excessively bright or cover all the walls. The wallpaper pattern can be repeated on curtains, sofa upholstery, and armchairs.
Important! Simple linen or cotton is inappropriate in Art Deco style. Choose silk, satin, velvet, brocade, leather and fur as interior textiles.
It makes sense to make the ceiling multi-tiered, with borders. The outline of the geometric shape is created by moldings or skirting boards. Parquet flooring made of bright, even contrasting shades of valuable exotic wood is appropriate for the floor.
Another option for finishing the floor surface is an exquisite and expensive ceramic or marble floor tile. In this case, the floor can be decorated with a rich ornamental composition.
Furniture in the Art Deco style
The main approach in choosing furniture is bright individuality. Furniture for the living room is best made to order: it should have several rounded corners, convex shapes, but vertical lines. The furniture usually features decor in the form of various zigzag, circular, oval, and triangular shapes, but can also be monotone.
As a traditional material for furniture in the living room interior, natural wood is suitable, but some innovative materials are also acceptable, such as colored glass. Seats can be covered in exotic leather, velvet, velvet, suede, or satin, and the following should also be considered:
- The hardware should be expensive and very expressive;
- The silhouettes of chairs, armchairs, and sofas will be good in a trapezoid shape, and the legs are curved;
- Secretaries and shelves can be of complex shapes.
- The surfaces should be lacquered.
- The furniture may have inlay or decorations.
- It is good to arrange arches in the living room, and sofas can be installed in niches.
Note that the traditional set of furniture in the Art Deco living room includes a chest of drawers with slightly rounded shapes, a richly decorated sideboard, several deep armchairs, a pair of sofas, a chaise longue, and several ottomans.
The realities of our time – plasma panels and music centers are placed in niches and decorated with frames or other elements. The decoration of any living room is a fireplace of the correct shape, decorated with expensive stone and ornamental grilles. In an ordinary city apartment, there will most likely be an artificial fireplace, but it can also be decorated no worse than a real one.
Lighting and Accessories
Lighting plays a crucial role in an interior decorated in the Art Deco style. Crystal chandeliers and rich light fixtures can be placed in recesses on different levels of the ceiling, as is customary in this style. It is also important to have diffused zoned lighting.
Considering that the interior should have a color scheme of white, black, and gold shades, lighting is also chosen to match this style. Glass and elegant chandeliers look much more flattering in yellow light emitted by simple incandescent bulbs.
Note that cold light is unacceptable for this style; warm and cozy lighting is necessary. This should be taken into account when selecting lighting fixtures.
Note that lampshades for light fixtures can be made using stained glass techniques, silk effect fabrics, or decorated with original and complex ornaments.
Velvet or satin curtains with intricate and rich draping, adorned with large gilded tassels, and a large number of pillows on sofas are mandatory attributes of luxury. Decorative items are a must-have, such as a collection of porcelain figurines, paintings, wrought iron candlesticks, light fixtures, and decorative elements.
If you have decided that an Art Deco-style living room is the right choice for you, remember that in this style, external effects are paramount. The creators and first followers of this luxurious style usually did not plan pragmatic plans for the future; they simply enjoyed life. Therefore, every element in your living room should proclaim the fullness of life and the joy of existence: expensive materials, luxurious furniture, and rare decor.
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