German and Scandinavian design during Art Deco Era

The Art Deco era was considered a time of luxury, vitality, exuberance and decadence. At the same time  eclectic styles and a move to modernism was evident. Historical sources as a starting point for new designs were diverse. Industrial methods and technological advances were also being used.

The most famous influence on modern design the Bauhaus was opened in Germany by Walter Gropius in 1919. This school of design combined architecture, industrial and graphic art.

The principles of William Morris and the Art and Craft movement were embraced. Fine art and practical craftsmanship were combined and the needs and influence of the modern industrial world were a major consideration. The International Style grew from these beginnings. The new profession of industrial design also developed at this time. Industrial design and Art Deco design led to the streamlined designs of kitchens and bathrooms.

In the Scandinavian countries the ‘Swedish Modern’ and ‘Danish Modern’ styles appeared. Traditional craftsmanship and materials were honored and comfortable interiors and furniture the result. The work tended to be warm and avoided what some thought the cold appearance of modern designs.

Gunnar Asplund’s Senna Chair was designed in 1925 as was Bruno Matheson’s Extension Table. Both examples of Swedish design. Kaare Klint’s furniture and Mogens Koch’s folding furniture are examples of Danish design. The Finnish designer Eliel Saarinen’s interiors and furniture have strong Art Deco links.

Images for Article Winning Placements

For those of you who have followed the link from the article 'Winning Placements: How 2 arrange your furniture like a professional interior decorator' I have placed some illustrations as promised in this blog

The most common mistakes made when arranging furniture

• Placing all the furniture against the wall

• Placing a large piece of furniture diagonally across a corner of the room

• Placing large pieces of furniture in a small room

• Placing too many pieces of furniture in a room

If you have not read the article and would like to just follow this link http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/winning-placement-how-2-arrange-your-furniture-like-a-professional-interior-decorator-2459565.html 

Art Deco UK

The fireplace with mottled tiles, brass fire implements and the beautiful curved sideboard I now recognise as Art Deco. As a child I was unaware of how valuable (what I thought old and dated) were the furniture and accessories of my granny’s Irish home. Although the wallpaper and linoleum were often changed the old fireplace and Art Deco furniture and other pieces remained. I disliked the fireplace. This could be due to the fact I often had to clean out the ash, set the fire ready to light and go out into the cold night to get coal. 

I now value the pieces of Art Deco and can appreciate the workmanship and design. My granny would have bought many of these pieces in the first years of her married life yet they were still there when we left Ireland for Australia in the 1970’s.   

  

In the British Art Deco home living rooms had the fireplace surrounded with pink, green or beige mottled matte tiles. Other colours used in the room were creams, eau-de-nil or oyster. The timber furniture tended to be pale and veneered in simple designs. Up lights, frames, mirrors and other items had stepped profiles.

The fabrics used in upholstery were plain or geometric. The linoleum floors had abstract designs or were black and white check. Parquet floors were also popular. In the 1920 UK magazine ‘Idea Home’ had an article on how to make large cushions in luxurious fabrics with tassels. Cushions in this style were the latest craze in the UK the article title; ‘The Indispensible Cushion: How to make them and where to place them’ 

Red and black tiles made by Carter & Co in Dorset England designed with graphic linear motifs based on objects like fans and stylized flowers were also popular. The tiles were mottle matte eggshell glazes with random crackles and star burst effects and used to tile around fireplaces were also used for entire kitchens or bathrooms.

The bold geometric patterns and designs in the Hoover Building is a brilliant example of Art Deco design in the UK. The Hoover factory in Perivale West London was built in 1932 and designed by Wallis Gilbert and Partners and is a well know example of the Art Deco style in Britain.   

 

One of the finest examples of Art Deco in the UK is Eltham Palace. If you go to this link http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/book-and-buy/venue-hire/eltham-palace/ you will find information and details on Eltham Palace built in the 1300’s. 

An Art Deco extension was commissioned in the 1930’s by the owners. The 15^th century Great Hall was also restored. Art Deco the style went into decline about 1935. However there have been revivals in the 1960’s and 1970s.    

How you can save on the cost of printing

Some recent research has revealed a way of reducing the cost of printing. Apparently the type of font used for letters, quotes, reports and notices can reduce the cost of printing. It is estimated 31 % of an ink cartridge can be saved by using the right font.

Printer.com tested how to cut costs using two computers the Canon Pixa MP210 and the Brother HL-2140. They found money could be saved by changing the font. Between $20 and $80 per year could be saved.

Ten fonts were tested. Arial one of the most popular fonts was used as a zero measurement. And the winner is Century Gothic. 31% savings was found to be possible using Century Gothic on both printers.

For organizations who use numerous printers this could add up to hundreds of dollars saved per year. The Century Gothic font won over the Ecofont. This is amazing as the Ecofont was especially designed to reduce cost.

You can find details on this research  @ http://tinyurl.com/c2znc2

The Interior Design with Your Personality in Mind Quick Mini Quiz

I have published this post on the SBO website but I thought I would place the information on this blog  in case you do not go to the SBO blog 

Over the years I have developed a theory about the impact of interior design and colour selections on different personalities. It all started in the 1980’s. In the early 1980’s I studied art but soon realised I liked working with people as much as going art work. I then did a couple of  interior design and decorating courses.

At the same time we bought our first house and I wanted to decorate our home to a high standard. This eventually led to an offer of a job as a kitchen designer. But I wanted to be involved with all aspects of design and applied and was accepted into the interior design course at the Queensland College of Art. I was delighted to find I could combine my artistic flare and my love of people with a career in interior design.

During the 1980’s I also became involved with success motivation and personality profiling. So began my interest in personality. Over the years I have studied psychology and counselling. I was and continue to be fascinated and study people and interior design.

I have written a series of four articles called ‘Interior Design with Your Personality in Mind’ if you would like to read the articles please follow this links:

Part 1:
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/interior-design-with-your-personality-in-mind-part-1-2403304.html

Part 2:
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/interior-design-with-your-personality-in-mind-part-2-2403321.html

Part 3:
http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/interior-design-with-your-personality-in-mind-part-3-2403342.html

Part 4:                                                                                                                            http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/interior-design-with-your-personality-in-mind-part-4-2403355.html

In the articles I provided a link to this blog. If you have read the articles and followed the link to the ‘Quick Personality Quiz’ here it is.

If you would like to do a full personality test go tohttp://www.discinsights.com/cyber/Scripts/disc.asp

If you want some fun go to http://www.gotoquiz.com/personality_plus_1 you will find a quiz on the subject connected to dating  

Art Deco USA

After the success of the 1925 Paris exhibition the USA was greatly influenced by French Art Deco. The Americans loved the bright surfaces and abstract patterns of the style. The Art deco motifs of the rising sun and the stepped ziggurat became popular. At the 1933 World’s Fair ‘Century of Progress’ in Chicago the shapes and designs of Art Deco were prominent.

The skyscraper designs of the Chrysler building designed by William van Alen in 1930 had sleek aluminum-banded facades, arches and a pointed spire. Donald Deskey designed the interior of Radio City Music Hall built in 1931. The Empire State buildings is another example of this magnificent style. Ely Jacques Kahn designed Art Deco skyscraper entrance lobbies using brilliant colours and luxurious materials with the Art Deco motifs designs and shapes.

Large department stores and theaters had brilliantly coloured carpets with abstract designs. The US embraced the style and made it their own. In the home linoleum in the bold colours and designs of Art Deco ensured it would continue to be popular as did parquet floors. Zebra skin rugs and other animal skin rugs were in vogue and placed over plain wall to wall carpets.

In the USA Art Deco designs became more geometric and linear. This married well with the rise of the minimized modern design. Art Deco items could easily be mass production making the style available to the masses.

Art Deco Designers in France

France was at the forefront of the Art Deco style for a number of years. Jacques Emile Ruhlmann in furniture, Jean Puiforcat in silver and Jean Dunand in lacquer work were leading designers at this time. Rene Lalique a glass worker and Paul Poiret a jeweler created beautiful pieces in the Art Deco Style.  

If you go to http://www.ruhlmann.info/interiors.php/t,Interiors you can view interiors designed by Jacques Emile Ruhlmann. There are also links to his furniture designs. 

The rooms of Ruhluman at the Paris exhibition of 1925 are brilliant examples of French Art Deco architecture. Rene Lalique created a shining example of Art Deco on the French luxury liner Normandie with his lighting and décor in the grand salon. 

Ruhlmann used rare materials lizard skin, shagreen (sharkskin or galuchet), and ivory, tortoiseshell and exotic hardwoods. He created classically inspired interiors and furniture with Empire style features such as tapered fluted legs, drum shaped tables. He also used thin ivory inlays and delicate ivory caps (sabots) covered the feet.

At 1925 Paris exhibition the chairs placed in his dining room were based on the 18^th century gondola type. He used boldly patterned wallpaper, a huge chandelier, classical detailing including; entablature as a cornice.  Other French designers were Andre Groult and Paul Iribe. Paul designed an apartment in 1912 using 18^th century design influences.      

Groult used Louis XVI furniture and Art deco features. He created formalised baskets, garlands of flowers, tassels, ropes and feathers. At Pavillion de L’Ambassade he created a female bedroom using shagreen furniture, bombe-shaped chest of drawers and a Gondole chair upholstered in velvet. 

Eileen Gray designed Suzanne Talbot’s apartment in 1920. She used animal skins, upholstered an armchair in salmon pink with the two front legs modeled on two rearing serpents, a piroque (canoe) sofa in patinated bronze lacquer with silver-leaf decoration. The brick wall leading to the bedroom was lacquered. 

She went on the open a shop to sell her hand made rugs and lacquer-work screens. In the late 1920’s she moved away from her highly decorative Art Deco work to embrace the Modern Movement using tubular steel, glass and timber furniture.

Unlike Eileen many Art Deco designers opposed the modern movement saying it neglected individuality and the decorative aspect of interior design.

Highlights from 'Hanging Around' a mini interior design workshop

As I promised to the readers of the full article this blog contains highlights from the mini interior design workshop ‘Hanging Around: ‘How to select and position Art Work’. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  

Large paintings or mirrors look better when they are hung on their own

Small paintings work better when hung in groups

Groups need to have a dominant directional line

There are common mistakes made when hanging art work

• Paintings placed too high on the wall

• Hanging fixtures are allowed to be seen

• Two or more paintings are often spaced incorrectly

You can view the full article at http://www.articlesbase.com/interior-design-articles/hanging-around-how-to-select-successfully-position-and-hang-your-art-work-2360648.html

You can also email me at Rosena@sampleboardonline.com for your free copy of the mini interior design eBook ‘Hanging Around’

Art Deco link 2 King Tut

The term Art Deco was coined to describe a style of interior design, architecture, textiles, ceramics and jewellery. Art Deco came to prominence in Paris at the 1925 Exposition Internationle des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes. The Art Deco period started in the early 1920’s and continued to be in fashion well into the 1930’s.

Characteristics of the style include symmetrical design with simple clean lines, sharp edges and stylishness. The words elegant, sophisticated and luxurious are words often used. Strong colours and straight designs were used as a reaction to the gentle pastel colours and flowing curving lines of the Art Nouveau. Chrome, enamel and highly polished stone were hallmarks of the era.

The motifs and patterns

• Straight lines

• Geometric shapes

• Abstract patterns

• Egyptian scarab

• Sun Motifs

• Stepped ziggurat shapes

• Fan shapes

• Aztec symbols

• Stylised flowers

• Sunrise motif

• Egyptian

• Cubism forms

 

Ancient Egyptian, Greek and classical patterns and motifs are also characteristic of Art Deco. The discovery and opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter brought Egyptian themes into vogue. Other influences were the Ballets Russes and Cubism. However designs, motifs and colours did vary between countries and the decades of the era.

The colours 

• Chocolate Brown

• Black

• Cream

• Pale Yellow

• Red

• White on White

• Buff

• Beige

• Coffee

• Pink

• Pastel blue

• Pastel pink

• Pale green

• Exposition des Arts Decoratifs Paris 1925 colours                                                         

Ultramarine

Sea green

Deep blue

Turmeric yellow

Black

Crimson

Burnt orange

Hot pink  

France started out as the center of the Art Deco movement. As mass production of Art Deco objects increased the people of the US embraced the style and became a dominant force and leaders of the Art Deco movement. Art Deco started to declined after 1935 but enjoyed a revival in the 1960s and 1970s. Some say we will see a revival of the Art Deco style in the 2000’s

“Great designs are not accomplished 

without enthusiasm of some sort; 

it is the inspiration of everything great”

Christian Nestell