Sleek, streamlined and elegant, Art Deco was design for a modern, fast-changing world. Speed and travel were powerful influences. The aerodynamic shapes of ocean liners, cars and trains being expressed through the lines of a wide array of items, from furniture to glass to jewellery.
In 2006 at Decorex, London’s leading interior design fair, we launched a bespoke furniture service for our company Period Designs. Taking inspiration from the original Art Deco furniture and objets that we had collected and sold over many years, John decided to update Art Deco for the 21st century and designed a collection of 16 pieces. Interior designers loved the pieces, for their “Wow!” factor and for their practicality – more generous seat widths on the dining chairs, channels to hide lighting leads for instance.
The workshop that has restored the original Art Deco furniture for us for many years, purchased special machinery in order to create plywood bases that would be remarkably strong yet pliable enough to make generous curves. This dense plywood is then veneered with woods of the clients’ choice.
One of the advantages of bespoke furniture is that it can be created to the customer’s own designs, bringing together elements that both evoke a historical period while making it uniquely fit for contemporary settings.
Visit www.perioddesigns.com to view the Art Deco Contemporary Collection. Each piece can be adjusted to your own choice of wood, colours, finishes, upholstery and dimensions. We will make pieces to your own designs from any era #perioddesignsuk
The Skyline Armchairs were based on a pair of late 1930s armchairs that had ebonised arms and cream upholstery. The clients choose a burr walnut veneer in a hard-wearing matt finish and a devore velvet upholstery fabric in a deep oceanic blue.