Book Description

Discover how to recreate and restore authentic period architecture, furnishings and detailing in the Art Deco style. The elegant and sophisticated style known as Art Deco epitomises for many the inter-war years of the 1920s and 1930s. Although not strictly a style of architecture, but a surface decoration, its clean lines and stylized, symmetrical forms nonetheless influenced the design of buildings throughout the world, greatly assisted by the new industrial materials of stainless steel and ferro-concrete. Interiors followed suit, featuring chrome for the first time, as well as brightly coloured enamels, glass and polished stone. Furniture, too, adopted the streamlined look, to which the mass-produced tubular steel of the 1930s was ideally suited. Art Deco transcended class as no other style had done previously. It united architecture (both public and domestic), decorative arts and the cheapest consumer goods. Today, as a result of the building boom of the 1920s and 1930s, more people probably live in a house built in this period than in any other. Although Art Deco House Style is primarily for those who wish to restore their homes to their original style, it is also a comprehensive reference book for devotees wishing to expand their knowledge of the movement. Lavishly illustrated chapters cover every aspect of the home, including furniture, fabrics and decorative detail, and throughout there is discussion of the leading designers of the period. Filled with practical advice and sources of materials, as well as much additional related information, this masterful work is an invaluable guide to the maintenance and renovation of Art Deco homes.