Love Art Deco? Lighting is the perfect way to get the style into your home, and without breaking the bank...
Art Deco is never not cool. Luxurious cinemas and ocean liners, Manhattan skylines, opulent hotel ballrooms through which Fred and Ginger forever trip the light fantastic... that unmistakable look of the 1920s and 30s will always be about as stylish as it gets. So who can blame you for wanting to sneak a little bit of that glamour into your home interiors? And the good news is that you don’t need to spend a fortune on Lalique sculptures or Tamara de Lempicka paintings to do it. Lighting is a splendid way to bring that gorgeous, geometrical Art Deco look into your home. And, with some judicious selection of contemporary wall lights, table lamps, pendants or floor lighting - eminently affordable too. Here’s a little Pooky Art Deco edit…
Art Deco wall lights and sconces
The striking wall sconce – angular, perhaps encrusted with jewellery or some sort of stylised Egyptian motifs – is possibly the most obvious lighting expression of Art Deco. Newly arrived into the Pooky stable is the Gatsby wall sconce – a cubist brass and alabaster sculpture that would look right at home on an ocean liner. Equally glamorous is the Trafalgar wall fitting in antique brass, especially when combined in antique brass with a Lorde frosted glass shade. Add a couple of those either side of a fireplace and you’re virtually in 1930s Manhattan. - Unfortunately the Lorde frosted glass shade is no longer available, but please take a look at our extensive range of glass shades here
Art Deco table lamps
Art Deco took the was influenced by - and reacted against - two earlier design movements. It embraced the straight lines and geometry of modernism but rejected its mass production; and at the same time it rejected the organic forms Art Nouveau but embraced its artistry and luxurious materials. So when it comes to bringing the Art Deco look into your home in, say, a table lamp, think materials as well as shapes. Luckily you can do this without breaking the bank. Take marble - the Sphynx tapered marble column table light is pure Art Deco. Here's the Sphynx and another that fits the bill, the Porcini which makes for a fine desk light...
Art Deco floor lamps
Standing lamps are possibly the trickiest kind of light to get right when it comes to achieving the Art Deco look. We had three cracks at the Albert with our designer Jorge in Porto before we got the angles and proportions of the square-based column just right. Take a closer look at the Albert here, and play around with different shades until you get the look you’re after, such as one in cream taj silk.
Albert
Art Deco pendant lights and chandeliers
For Art Deco ceiling lighting think glass - preferably moulded into a striking and stylish shape. The Aquila has a true Art Deco chic, and is a very striking light.
The Rita is a glamourous 1930s style chandelier with a manageable width of 25cm and height of 52cm, meaning you can hang it almost anywhere.
Interested in 20th Century design? Read the Art Deco installment of our History of Design in Table Lamps here.
