1920s–1939 · France, United States, Britain
Art Deco Interior
Also known as Style Moderne, Jazz Moderne, Arts Décoratifs
The glamorous, geometric interior of the Jazz Age — lacquer, chrome and exotic veneers in bold sunbursts, zigzags and stepped forms, machine-age luxury made stylish.
Eltham Palace, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eltham_Palace_interior.jpg
Across disciplines
- Architecture: Art Deco
- Industrial Design: Art Deco Product
About the style
Art Deco crystallised at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs and became the defining glamour style of the interwar years. It married the luxury craft tradition of French ensembliers like Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann with the optimism of the machine age, producing rooms that were simultaneously rich and streamlined. The vocabulary was emphatically geometric: sunbursts, zigzags, chevrons, stepped 'ziggurat' forms, stylised florals and faceted ornament. Surfaces gleamed — high-gloss lacquer, exotic veneers (Macassar ebony, amboyna), shagreen, ivory inlay, mirror, chrome and nickel — set against bold colour and black accents. Lighting became sculptural, from frosted-glass uplighters to neon. In America the style soared into skyscraper lobbies and cinemas; the Streamline Moderne variant added aerodynamic curves. Furniture was low, sleek and richly faced. The total impression is confident, urbane, theatrical and modern — luxury reconciled with the twentieth century.
Notable examples
- ▸Lobby of the Chrysler Building, New York (William Van Alen, 1930)
- ▸Hôtel du Collectionneur ensemble by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1925 Paris Exposition)
- ▸Auditorium of Radio City Music Hall, New York (Donald Deskey, 1932)
Anatomy of Art Deco Interior
The numbered markers call out the design elements that define this style. Hover or tap a marker to see its breakdown.
Eltham Palace, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eltham_Palace_interior.jpg
A radiating sunburst or fan motif in inlay, plaster or metal anchors a wall or overdoor as the era's emblem of optimism.
A low cabinet in high-gloss lacquer or Macassar ebony veneer, edged in ivory or chrome, gleams with machine-age luxury.
A frosted-glass uplighter or stepped ceiling fixture spreads a soft glow, lighting treated as sculptural ornament.
A boldly patterned rug of chevrons, circles and stepped forms in strong colour grounds the room's confident geometry.
How Art Deco Interior connects
Styles form a network, not a tree. Explore the direct neighbours below — click any to travel the map one hop at a time.
- Parallel / cross-current
- Reaction against
Parallel / cross-current Art Deco — the Art Deco architecture movement
Parallel / cross-current Art Deco Product — shares Deco's luxury objects and furniture
Reaction against Art Nouveau Interior — replaced Art Nouveau's organic curve with machine-age geometry
Describe it like this
Prompt-ready vocabulary for describing or re-creating the Art Deco Interior look.