If you want to incorporate some elements of Art Deco design into your home, you’re in luck. It’s very easy to add one or two pieces or to decorate a whole home in this distinctive style. Here are some guidelines to help you through the process.

• Colors in Art Deco are striking and bold with a lot of contrasts. Bright and deep yellows, reds, greens, blues, and pinks mix well with silver, black, and chrome.
• If you want something softer try creams and beiges which were also often used in living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. These colors contrast beautifully with the polished wood and lacquered furniture common to the period.

• Choose strong, streamlined shapes with no frills. Furniture made of exotic woods like zebrawood, as well as chrome and mirrored pieces, are great options.
• Art Deco furniture tends to be large in scale so don’t be afraid to buy big pieces. Sideboards, armoires and generously sized chairs are all typical of the period.

• Don’t use any pretty florals or plaids in an art deco room. The fabrics in this style are usually either solid colors or geometric designs.
• For an added punch try adding highlights with cushions in solid contrasting blocks of color. A keyword to remember is “bold.”

• Linoleum in abstract designs or black and white tiles are typical, as are lacquered floors. Polished parquet is also perfect for flooring.
• Keep in mind that floors in the Art Deco period would have been overlaid with large rugs in geometric patterns, so feel free to do that if you choose.

• Lights were often made of glass and chrome (which was a brand new material at the time). Glass was sometimes etched or enameled. White glass and colored Tiffany-style glass were also very common.
• It’s still possible to find fixtures that are original to the period, but if you can’t don’t worry. There are a lot of reproductions for sale on the market.