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Interior Ideas


Crash course in design styles:
Art Deco



Few architectural and design styles are so instantly recognisable as Art Deco. With its distinctive lines and unashamed opulence, it is the very epitome of glamour. During the 1920s and 30s, it was everywhere, especially in architecture and interior design - think of Manhattan skylines, opulent hotel ballrooms, luxury cruise ships, flagship department stores, Hollywood stars and cinemas.

Although its influence waned after WW11, its popularity has never gone away, after all, who doesn’t want to inject a little glamour into their homes? Thankfully, it needn’t cost a fortune to add a little Art Deco pizazz to your scheme. With just a few well considered soft furnishings, the odd sculptural piece and a statement light or two, you can achieve the same luxurious look.

Cheltenham Wall Light
Cheltenham Wall Lights 
Bathroom interior by @uns.hobbs_interiors. Photograph Boz Gagovski @boz_gagovski

Lighting is an excellent way to bring a little Art Deco style into your home as it embraces the artistry and use of luxurious materials. When it comes to bringing Art Deco into your home, think of materials, particularly shiney metals like brass, copper and nickel/chrome  -  as well as distinctive or angular shapes. 

For ideas on how to acheive Art Deco elements in your decorating - see our guide in the Inspiration pages - ART DECO STYLE

Greenwich over dining room table

EMBRACE FLUTED GLASS


Our hand blown fluted glass shades combine the best of modern design with traditional glass making, marrying old and new in perfect harmony. Fluted glass was embraced by the Art Deco movement as it enables light to dance from flute to flute for a luxurious and sophisticated aesthetic that was much sought after.

Our Cheltenham  is a stunning bathroom wall light handmade from solid, natural brass that has a smack of art deco style about it. With its beautifully ribbed, hand blown glass shade, it has a vintage glamour that will add personality to any bathroom and looks fabulous hung either side of a mirror, sink or vanity unit. Similarly, the Dorset also displays a touch of Art Deco, with its warm brass and double fluted or frosted glass in an elegant, elongated, tubular design that can be fitted vertically or horizontally.

Our popular Allegra and Hartley ranges are dainty fittings that pack a stylish punch thanks to their classic brass detailing and fluted glass shade. In a first for us, the Hartley glass features cross hatching that gives it modern appeal. Effortlessly versatile, both lend themselves to a smaller space where they look good on their own or hung in a pair either side of a chimney breast, window or above kitchen counter tops.
Dorset Fluted Wall light
Dorset Fluted Wall Light
Allegra Adjustable Fine Fluted wall light
Allegra Adjustable Fine Fluted Wall Light
Hartley Pendant Light
Hartley Pendant Light
19mm Fluted Glass Ball Finial
19mm Fluted Glass Ball Finial

OPT FOR OPAL, FROSTED & COLOURED GLASS


The use of textured, coloured and frosted glass was integral to Art Deco design, especially when combined with metal fittings. Try our Morston Single & Double wall lights with clear, fluted and frosted glass for creating soft layers of light in a room, while our AvaFulbourn and Holborn range of coloured glass pendants in dusky pink, greeny blue and charcoal, bring subtle hints of colour to your lighting scheme.

The Gladstone is a classic, flush fitting ceiling that that makes the perfect centre piece for any sized bathroom and will add a touch of art deco chic to the room.
Morston Double Fluted Wall Light, Frosted
Morston Double Fluted Wall Light, Frosted
Gladstone Flush Fitting Light
Gladstone Flush Fitting Light

CELEBRATE SIMPLE, CLEAN LINES


Some of Art Deco's key features is the love of geometric shapes, clean lines and symmetry. At its height in the 1920s, mass manufacturing hit its stride and Art Deco was much influenced by the resulting machine age with streamlined designs, repetative patterns and a focus on industrial materials like brass, copper, steel and glass.

Our Lamarsh or Thorpe wall lights offer clean, comptemporary designs that will add beautiful layers of light to your interior decor, creating a cosy, inviting atmosphere in bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms. If you prefer a slightly more traditional wall light that still oozes Art Deco style, consider our Elmwood and Station wall lights range. These double and single wall scones combine vintage style shade arms with more contemporary, generously sized backplates. 

Lamarsh Wall Light
Lamarsh Wall Light
Elmwood wall light
Elmwood Wall Light

BE BOLD


Art Deco is synonymous with bold contrasting colour schemes. Try painting feature walls in deep, saturated colours of deep green, peacock, burgundy or navy and contrast them with cream or white with dark trims around coving and corncies and ceiling roses.

Anything that incorporates fluted lines and motifs with zigzags, sun bursts, chevrons and stepped forms fit comfortably into an Art Deco scheme. Vivid colours like emerald green, ruby red, topaz gold, black and saphire blue were commonly used, often as a contrast to metallic or neutral tones. Stylised represtentations of nature and the human form were popular in art at the time, often in streamlined or abstract forms. 

Shaftesbury Door Knobs
Shaftesbury Door Knobs
Wandsworth Table Lamp
Wandworth Table Lamp

MAKE THE MOST OF SHINEY METALS


Art Deco interiors were all about opulence, luxury and a sense of drama with mirrors, glass and shiny reflective metals used to create a sense of space as well as refinement. Make an impression with our Melton Door Knocker in nickel on your front door, or choose a glamorous pendant  or chandelier for the centrepiece of your living room. Our stunning Queensbury Pendant  drips with glass droplets that bounces light around the room. If that is not to your taste, try of our ornate metal ceiling pendants such as the Romana or Scolled Pendant in old gold for a deeply luxurious but more subtle sense of luxury. Complement your lighting with other reflective surfaces such as mirrored furniture, glass top tables, polished surfaces and metallic fittings with gold or silver accents.

Queensbury Pendant
Queensbury Pendant
Melton Door Knocker
Melton Door Knocker


INCORPORATE GEOMETRIC SHAPES


Geometric shapes and patterns lie at the heart of Art Deco design. Think of Egyptian, Aztec and African art as key decorative elements. Choose rugs, wallpaper and soft furnishings with bold, angular designs, overlapping shapes in contrasting colours and repetative patterns. Select piece of art with geometric motifs, or opt for decorative panels with cutout or embossed patterns, or for a quick hack, reframe artwork with metallic borders to get in instant Art Deco vibe.

Our Watercolour Leaf and Woodland fabrics have a geometry that suits an Art Deco inspired room, while our silk or satin cushion covers have a rich, sumptuous lustre that shouts opulence. The Stafford Pendant has a beautiful Aztec inspired decorative collar around the bell glass shade, while our Fisher, Chiltern Arundel and Chesterfield lights feaures stepped and star shaped decorative details that complement Art Deco style.
Fabric in Red Watercolour Leaf
Fabric in Red Watercolour Leaf
3 Gang Button Switch
3 Gang Button Switch
Hartley Pendant Light
Stafford Pendant Light
19mm Fluted Glass Ball Finial
Bourdon Floor Lamp


Browse the Jim Lawrence website to see all of our hand forged and finished lighting and homeware.



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