Art Deco: Architecture & Interior Atlas issue 07

A four-card mood board for a style that turned modern life into ornament: crisp geometry, rich surfaces, and a little theatrical shine.

Think stepped silhouettes, fan motifs, symmetry, dark timber, polished metal, velvet, and jewel tones against cream or black. Art Deco could be luxurious without becoming soft; its pleasure comes from the tension between hard geometry and tactile surfaces. 1

The style took shape in western Europe in the 1910s and 1920s, then reached its public high point at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. The exhibition opened on 28 April 1925 between the Grand Palais and the Invalides, presenting architecture, interiors, and decorative work as a manifesto for a post-war appetite for modernity. 2

The movement drew from Art Nouveau, Cubism, the Ballets Russes, ancient Egypt, and other historical and natural sources, but reorganised them into cleaner, more symmetrical forms. Its name comes from the Paris exhibition; "Style Moderne" was also used before "Art Deco" became common. 13

The useful palette is emerald, sapphire, oxblood, ochre, cream, black, and metal. Pair geometric ornament—chevrons, zigzags, triangles, sunbursts—with lacquer, brass, chrome or stainless steel, marble, glass, dark or figured wood, and plush upholstery. Furniture tends toward sculpted silhouettes, generous curves, and strong symmetry rather than rustic irregularity. 34

The contemporary version usually borrows a few signals instead of rebuilding a 1920s room: dark wood with plaster, one reflective finish against something matte, a saturated colour carried through the room, and one emphatic geometric gesture. Architectural Digest describes this edited approach across homes, retail, and hospitality. 5

A concrete example is Rockwell Group's 2025 La Tête d'Or restaurant in Manhattan: rich blues, mirrored surfaces, dark marble, wood and leather panelling, symmetrical dining rooms, stepped ceilings, velvet banquettes, and mixed metals translate Deco references into a current hospitality interior. 6