How to Decorate Art Deco: Interior Design Styles Explained

In today's video we're doing a deep dive on an interior design style that is over a century old yet feels fresh and exciting in 2022: ART DECO! If you've ever romanticized the 1920s and all of the gorgeous collectible furniture pieces from that era you will love this video. In each "design styles explained" video I go over the history, key elements, influences, design philosophies, sources, and more to help you decide if this is the interior design style for your home.

💭 This design style was selected thanks to viewer requests! Let me know which design style you'd like to see next by leaving a comment on this video.

PS... I love to hear your thoughts, so let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to know! I love to hear your video ideas, too, so keep them coming!

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+ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 How to Decorate Art Deco | Design Styles Explained
00:35 What is Art Deco?
01:09 Unpacking the History Behind Art Deco
02:59 Key Elements of Art Deco Interior Design
07:00 Art Deco Design Philosophies
09:47 Art Deco Design Inspiration
11:52 Art Deco Design Sources
16:33 How Do We Make Art Deco Achievable?
17:23 Is Art Deco the Design Style for You?
18:43 Which Design Style Should We Explore Next?

+ LINKS MENTIONED
I love to geek out on the history and research a ton on each style I present. Here are some links to articles that informed and pushed my thinking on how to apply it in the contemporary home.

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[LindsayLiving]

Hey there interior design buddies! I'm back with another design style video. Would you try any Art Deco pieces in your home? Do you already have any fun pieces? Do tell...

[romulus]

I've got to tell you I am totally in love with art deco! I have a room full of art Deco paintings a couple vases - and even cubist mixed in with industrial style. That is my jam.

[lorireel]

Wonderful video. Some good ideas. I am separating from my husband after 34 really good years of marriage. Focusing on an Art Deco bedroom (thanks to already having a bedroom chest of drawers and another matching cabinet) has been a blessing. Giving me something fun to look forward to. Thanks for sharing!

[Baseball-huh]

I love art deco and mid-century modern. I like the idea of being bold and expressive like art deco but using a lot of deep woods with a few MCM elements to kind of combine the styles.

[ellenwaters]

I love art deco and really enjoyed this video! I also appreciate how you tell us to shop our own houses with practical suggestions on what to search for. Thanks for another brilliant video!

[michelledehaen]

Very interesting Lindsay, I like timeless pieces combined with modern onces. Very authentic with great history aswell, thank you. 😍🤩💖💥💯👌👍

[niyatirohatgi]

absolutely loved this video! so thorough, i loved that you start with the history, influence and how one can spot art deco designs and then how one could use it in the present day. I'm currently re-doing my home and i lovee art deco! so happy i came across this video. lots of love

[berlinorama]

I have a lovely French Art Deco pewter table lamp in the shape of a stylised artichoke. My friend found it on EBay and gave it to me for Christmas! I did have to get it rewired but it was well worth it and now graces my kitchen table.

[johnbehneman]

GREAT VIDEO LINDSAY!!!! I LEARNED SO MUCH!!!! YES, ART DECO INTERIOR DESIGN IS ALSO A JOURNEY. BUT IT IS A FUN JOURNEY!!! IT IS AN EVOLUTION OF YOUR SPACE. IT TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE. BUT THE RESULTS PAY OFF BIG TIME!!! I AM STILL LEARNING AND GROWING ABOUT ART DECO. BUT I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN!!! THAT IS WHAT MATTERS MOST!!!! ENJOY THE JOURNEY!!! GREAT VIDEO AND EDUCATION. THANKS FOR SHARING!!!

[sugarbomb]

Great video! You were so thorough and packed the video with inspiring drool worthy images all the way through.

[bethanymcdonnell]

I love all of your videos!!! Please keep making them!

[peatieginger]

Such an informative video with so much information and great pictures. Fin to watch not a boring moment. Thanks😊

[flowersafeheart]

Thanks so much for explaining Art Deco! Starting to get a feel for it here. Not my style but exploring it for a project idea and trying to be aware of various styles.

[deetgeluid]

I just got an appartment in the Hague, Nethelands from 1023. Totally mixing Art Deco with Art Nouveau. Wich is possible!❤

[aiccorp]

Art deco is my favorite, I wish I lived during that time.

[cheamericana]

My problem is that I love art deco and rustic. Is it possible to combine those two. Uughh

[craigmoir]

Great vid
Very helpful for me thank you

[th]

Cincinnati has a lot of art deco influence. Carew Tower/Netherland plaza and union terminal are absolutely art deco to the max.

[Doomsterlobster]

Nice video! However, at the risk of a "well, actually", I would caution against projecting later generalisations into the past. There was no all-encompassing "art deco style" in the 1920s (the term itself came later), and many of the examples associated with "art deco interior design" come from different directions.

If we're talking about Europe and North America broadly, the 1920s (and 1930s) had several trends going on.
1) There were the last hurrahs of art nouveau/Jugendstil/Secession, which had taken on a more geometric and futuristic/archaic approach (compared to the romanticism and naturalism of the other end of its spectrum). Many geometric patterns we associate with art deco would sit well in a late jugendstil building. Look at some of the simpler candelabra of the style, they go really well with what you might consider art deco.
2) In reaction against naturalism, there was a return to classicism in architecture and academic interior design, as showcased by books such as Frank Alvah Parson's Interior Decoration: Its Principles and Practice (1915). This includes the symmetrical pairs of stuff you mentioned, the return to clean structural lines and positioning of furniture against walls, but also classical-inspired sculpture and reliefs of athletic youths etc.
3) There was the Bauhaus and its influence on functionalist modern design, including use of metal. This, I think, was a very different school of design at the time, and only later marketing would conflate the two in modern riffs on "art deco."
4) There was, and this I think is overlooked, the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, which initiated a huge Egyptian trend (kind of like what Napoleon's campaigns did to empire style) in just about everything. It was a huge sensation, comparable to the moon landing. A lot of the golden, archaic, decorative flavor of what we now call art deco is directly influenced by the discovery.
5) There was also a streak of orientalism and decadence, which you might see especially in a smoking room or parlour: oriental rugs, ottomans and sofas with tassles and rich, decorative upholstering etc.

This, of course, is in addition to the fact that most homes were mostly decorated with older furniture. You didn't redo everything just because something new came into fashion. So actual 1920s style was even more heterogenous. But even so, I think it's useful and interesting to distinguish these different strands that make up what we've later come to think of as "art deco". It might give us more ideas to build up our own rooms than just looking up modern Pinterest interiors marketed as art deco.

[Elemiriel]

I definitely love art deco. I would say mixed with a bit of regency/greek revival, and some whimsical details, all mixed in a somewhat minimal way (definitely NOT maximalist) is my style. I like everything being very purposely layered in eras of history/present, almost like an old cafe celebrating their 300th anniversary lol