Five Features to Help You Create an Art Deco Kitchen
First appearing in the early 1900s, Art Deco design encompassed extravagance and modernism, influencing everything from architecture to radios. This movement was so ubiquitous, that Art Deco kitchen design was inevitable. Although felt globally, it eventually fell out of favour but experienced a revival in the 1960s and since then has been an important influence in design.
At its heart, Art Deco is a blend of different forms of art and design and has been shaped by the colour and geometry of various movements. We have compiled some Art Deco design features that you could implement into your own kitchen here.
The straight lines and metallic finish of the Cromwell D-shaped pewter handle (pictured left) give it an Art Deco air. Fixing them to your cabinet frontals is an easy way to add a geometrical design that was such an integral part of the movement. They can be used horizontally on drawers and vertically on cupboards. Alternatively, you could use our Douglas kitchen cabinet knob (pictured right), which features curves and sweeping lines.
This island utilises classic Art Deco design features – namely the sweeping curve and the bold contrasting colour scheme. The reflective quality of the black sparkle Andromeda worktop displays the same extravagance that was so popular in the 1920s. This design goes one step further by adding the wine rack which has strong geometric character – something that is also mirrored in the Shaker door.
You only need to look at celebrated buildings such as The Daily Express Building and The Hoover Building in London to know that curves exemplify Art Deco design. You can scale this down and easily apply it to your kitchen by installing curved cornices and pelmets to your wall cabinets.
Hotrods are another way that you could add a geometric element to your Art Deco kitchen. Here, the stainless steel looks beautiful against the colour of the worktop. Of course, their use is primarily functional and will protect your worktops from heat, but their aesthetic is definitively Art Deco.
As well as geometry, colour was an integral part of Art Deco. The colour palette had a wide range of influences from Native American to Ancient Egyptian art and as a result coral, red, jade green, off-white, gold, and ochre all were prevalent colours. There are several colours from the Farrow & Ball range that we can apply to our cabinet frontals to help you achieve an Art Deco kitchen.
Do you like Art Deco designs, would you consider this style in your kitchen, or do you think it should have been left in the 1920s? Let us know what you think in the comments below or head over to our Facebook and Twitter pages to share your Art Deco kitchen pictures with us.