Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s

Customer Reviews:

It just seems to fit with the Bungalow Style.......2006-12-02

The 1920's and '30's in the United States saw the construction of huge number of Bungalow in a great many US cities. These now 80 year old houses were often constructed in newly developed subdivisions. Now many of these subdivisions are being discovered as artistically attractive, close to town, shopping, entertainment. The bungalow houses often retain their characteristic style, and many even contain their original fittings such as light fixtures, plumbing, fireplaces.

This time, this style of home was made for Art Deco.

This book shows how these houses would have been decorated when they were new. The furniture, art, decorations, wall paper, paint colors, etc. just look like they belong in bungalows.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking at decorating a 1920's vintage bungalow.

Incredible History of Art Deco.......2005-09-08

Great book with many helpful photos. Great history of the art. Recommended to anyone who wants to know more about one of the 20th century's most important art forms.

Not impressed.......2005-04-23

This is a pretty dry book. First it helps to know a little French. Secondly, all this book does is throw in a couple hundred names of designers and places. Third, when the author speak of different designs which were created by people there are no images to back it up, so you really can't produce an image in your head of what the author is describing, the images that are in the book are mainly black and white and drawings which really didn't give me a sense of what the designer was trying to portray. As a designer I purchased this book to learn more about the art deco style, characteristics, elements, materials and influence, which is not what I found in this book.

The last book I'd let go of........2005-03-24

For those who are looking for a special purpose book, such as one that will instruct a person in design, or categorize items one may want to purchase by type (lamps, vases, statues, etc.), this may not be the ideal book. For the reader who is interested in exploring the deco spirit of original times and designers who viewed deco interiors as ensembles and not mere collections of items, this is an excellent book. As well bound as it is, I may eventually wear out my copy. It has been most useful to see original period interiors (ensembles, including the objects of which they are composed) from hotel lobbies, theatres, bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms, restaurants, train stations, ocean liners, movie sets, offices, kitchens, and more, as I gather interpretive hints and inspiration for remodeling projects for each of the rooms in my house. I also browse through it sometimes just for the type of eye candy I never tire of. Photography is plentiful, and many photographs are nearly full-page in size. The writing is instructive related to history and designers, and well written. If I could keep only one art deco book - so far - this would be it.

Not what I needed.......2005-02-01

This book was more encyclopedic than inspiring. This would be great for a student of design. It was not helpful for me. I wanted to find decor and furnishing ideas for my unostentatious 1930's home. This book did not offer help to the interior design novice.

A Spirit of Progress: Art Deco Architecture in Australia

Average customer rating:

Delightful Deco dumbed-down
Art Deco Australia Revealed
Heritage - The Real Spirit of Progress

A Spirit of Progress: Art Deco Architecture in Australia
Patrick Van Daele , and Roy Lumby
Manufacturer: Fine Art Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criticism | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Australia | Australia & Oceania | History | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Art Deco | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Art Nouveau | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9057036711

Customer Reviews:

Delightful Deco dumbed-down.......2007-09-09

This will most likely be the regarded as the standard work on Deco architecture in Australia if only for Roy Lumby's superb essay in the first sixty-four pages. He manages to pull all the various Deco themes and personalities together so that the reader is left with an understanding of how this particular architectural style evolved across the country.

The bulk of the book uses the excellent color photography (and frequent attractive hand tinting) of Patrick Van Daele. Fortunately as he took all the photos the book has an evenness of color and style which combined with captions make the images work so well. Incidentally the captions provide a lot more information than the name of the building and location.

This is as far as my praise goes though owing to the book's production which is sadly lacking because of an excess of white space and some thoughtless editorial direction. The main problem is that so many of Van Daele's photos have been reduced in size because of some designer's whimsy, leaving empty page space in abundance. A pity because as I've said these are cracking photos. Not only are so many of them too small but where they occur several to a page the silly convention of directions are used: top, left, middle center, bottom right made all the more useless because each caption has a plate number and this would have been all that was needed under each image.

The book's typography uses the very appropriate period typeface Futura but again thoughtless design does the reader no favors. The caption text is in a very light weight, similarly the bibliography and index will have readers straining to read anything in a domestic lighting environment because of tiny type size and thinness. My tip: read this book only in daylight!

I find it very frustrating when a book's first class text and images are devalued because of unprofessional design which contributes to a lack of editorial clarity.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Art Deco Australia Revealed.......2007-07-16

The first major book on Art Deco to be published in Australia, A Spirit of Progress: Art Deco Architecture in Australia is an outstanding accomplishment for the research of Art Deco in this country, and it is sure to become a classic in its field. From the tasteful abstract cover (a detail from the 1930s King's Cinema) and the volumes overall presentation to the stunning photographs by Patrick Van Daele it is a pleasure to hold and read. A Spirit of Progress is written in an intelligent and erudite manner that is not too dry & academic for the average Art Deco enthusiast like myself.

With each of its eight chapters being devoted to a different building type (office buildings, commercial buildings, domestic architecture, cinemas, ETC) it takes the reader on a pictorial journey that criss-crosses the vastness of Australia. The book includes some stylish examples of Art Deco buildings in major capital cities such as Sydney, Melbourne or Perth and in selected smaller towns and rural cities throughout Australia. In fact A Spirit of Progress is chiefly a photographic survey of some of Australia's finest inter-war Art Deco buildings, some of which have lamentably long since been demolished. Even now in a time when our early 20th century built heritage is more admired and appreciated, some Art Deco styled buildings are still threatened with potential demolition by overzealous developers.

While we have nothing on the scale or grandeur of New York's Empire State & Chrysler Buildings, the refined classicism of London's Broadcasting House or the sophisticated elegance of Los Angeles Bullocks Wilshire or Wiltern Cinema. What we do have is a profusion of moderately scaled Deco structures like pubs, movie palaces, department stores and so on. Art Deco was slow in coming to Australia, reaching our shores in the late 1920s via America, so the large bulk of our Deco buildings were constructed in the 1930s and some as late as the early 1940s. This building boom was due in part to Australia recovering earlier than most other industrialised nations from the devastating effects of the great depression. During this all too brief age of relative peace & prosperity between two cataclysmic World Wars, some of our most recognisable Art Deco structures were built. Sydney has two famous Deco landmarks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932) and the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park (1934). In Melbourne they have the Myer Emporium (1933), Mitchell House (1937) and the Capitol Theatre (1924). We even have some grand Art Deco houses like Everglades (1936) in the Blue Mountains or Burnham Beeches (1933) in the Dandenong ranges, both outside Sydney and Melbourne respectively. My home town of inner Sydney like many other modern metropolises around the world has large numbers of handsome jazz age flats and apartment buildings, some with spectacular harbour views that fetch high prices on today's market.

If like me you have an obsession with Art Deco and are considering visiting Australia, A Spirit of Progress: Art Deco Architecture in Australia would be a perfect companion guide for viewing some of our timeless Deco heritage. I urge you to buy this fabulous volume for it is well worth the price and will give you years of reading and viewing pleasure.

Heritage - The Real Spirit of Progress.......2000-10-09

Superb photographs of Australian 20s and 30s architecture, supported by the very best of architectural comment. Australia's acknowledged expert on 20,s and 30,s architectural and design heritage, Lumby has taken the often regarded 'humdrum' to the very heigths! The VERY BEST! This book is cheap at half the cost!

Art Deco House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book

Average customer rating:

Mostly exterior
More a historical reference book than a decorating book
LOVE IT
Middle Class Art Deco
Very Nice

Art Deco House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book
Ingrid Cranfield
Manufacturer: David & Charles Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Style | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Art Deco | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s
The Art Deco House
Art Deco Architecture: Design, Decoration, and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties
Art Deco Furniture: The French Designers
Art Deco: 1910-1939

ASIN: 071531744X

Book Description

Discover how to recreate and restore authentic period architecture, furnishings and detailing in the Art Deco style.

The elegant and sophisticated style known as Art Deco epitomises for many the inter-war years of the 1920s and 1930s. Although not strictly a style of architecture, but a surface decoration, its clean lines and stylized, symmetrical forms nonetheless influenced the design of buildings throughout the world, greatly assisted by the new industrial materials of stainless steel and ferro-concrete. Interiors followed suit, featuring chrome for the first time, as well as brightly coloured enamels, glass and polished stone. Furniture, too, adopted the streamlined look, to which the mass-produced tubular steel of the 1930s was ideally suited.

Art Deco transcended class as no other style had done previously. It united architecture (both public and domestic), decorative arts and the cheapest consumer goods. Today, as a result of the building boom of the 1920s and 1930s, more people probably live in a house built in this period than in any other.

Although Art Deco House Style is primarily for those who wish to restore their homes to their original style, it is also a comprehensive reference book for devotees wishing to expand their knowledge of the movement. Lavishly illustrated chapters cover every aspect of the home, including furniture, fabrics and decorative detail, and throughout there is discussion of the leading designers of the period. Filled with practical advice and sources of materials, as well as much additional related information, this masterful work is an invaluable guide to the maintenance and renovation of Art Deco homes.

Customer Reviews:

Mostly exterior.......2007-03-09

This is a lovely book, but I bought it for the interior part and it really is mostly external architecture.

More a historical reference book than a decorating book.......2007-02-18

I ordered this book for a friend who has an Art Deco house and is planning an extension with a new kitchen. It sounded ideal but proved less than useful. It is really a historical reference for Art Deco elements which may be interesting to some but is not so useful if you want to use your house in a more modern way. The average 1930's kitchen just does not cut it these days. This book showed original Art Deco kitchens but no new kitchens in Art Deco style. I would recommend this book to design students and ardent enthusiasts of the style but not to someone who is not so fanatical. There are better books for integrating old and new such as "Old House, New Home: Stylish Modern Living In A Period Setting".

LOVE IT.......2006-07-03

This book is exactly what I was looking for! The reviews I read on amazon.com convinced me to buy it because they said it was great for someone who owned an art deco style house and they were right. I would recommend it.

Middle Class Art Deco.......2006-03-16

Many of the Art Deco reference books are very high quality "coffee table" productions that highlite museum quality Art Deco creations. They are fantastic books but as the owner of middle class Art Deco home, I know that objects presented in these books are way beyond my economic means. I can admire them but never afford these iconic art pieces. The beauty of Ingrid Cranfield's "Art Deco House Style" is that it concentrates on more modest homes and interiors. Nearly every page is filled with period photographs of house exteriors, furniture and other household objects. At $16 new or $10 used, this is a very reasonably priced reference book more suitable for the book shelf than the coffee table. A good value and highly recommended for the regular person with a 1930's home.

Very Nice.......2005-07-18

I really like this book a lot of pictures, it is helping my to decorate my thirties house. I surely recomend it.

Art Deco (Architecture and Design Library)

Average customer rating:

A Little Vague, But Very Enthusiastic Art Deco Design Guide
A Good introduction to Art Deco
Wonderful illustration

Art Deco (Architecture and Design Library)
Young Mi Kim
Manufacturer: Friedman/Fairfax Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Style | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Art Deco House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book
Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s
Arts & Crafts (Architecture & Design Library)
Inside Art Deco: A Pictorial Tour of Deco Interiors from Their Origins to Today
Art Deco: 1910-1939

ASIN: 1567994318

Customer Reviews:

A Little Vague, But Very Enthusiastic Art Deco Design Guide.......2002-09-28

Perhaps the best thing about this book (outside of its many beautiful photos) is Kim's clear enthusiasm for Art Deco in all its forms. I thoroughly enjoyed her introduction, which, while admitting Art Deco's lack of "purity" in style, also explores its incredibly long influence (almost five decades), the disparate styles from which it takes its inspiration, and the vastly different ways in which the style manifests itself in both architecture and interiors.

This said, however, I *do* think that the book might have better benefitted from a different title. Although the book is clearly about Art Deco, I believe its focus is mostly on interiors and different ways to capture the Art Deco "feel." Many of the pictures are of interiors which are clearly not original Art Deco rooms, but merely inspired by the style and usually containing a few authentic pieces. Perhaps *Art Deco-Inspired Interiors* would have made a more suitable title.

Another problem I had was Kim's lack of thorough captions for the photographs in the book. Especially near the beginning, I came across several images (usually of building exteriors) that I wanted to know more about (for example, what they were and where they were located). Kim seldom gives the reader any information on the many fantastic buildings and pieces featured in the book's photos, save for the more notable (and therefore more obvious) ones. Instead, she focuses on the style of the objects, which often leads the captions to become somewhat repetative.

Nevertheless, Kim's appreciation and enthusiasm for the style more than makes up for the book's lack of a clear purpose. I think this is a lovely book that perfectly suits anyone wishing to draw from the influence of Art Deco for designing their own interiors. It's definitely of use as an attractive, well-illustrated, reliable guide to Art Deco style.

A Good introduction to Art Deco.......2002-04-04

This book is a short and concise introduction to the Art Deco style, looking at both architectural style and interior design. It is not a comprehensive guide, but is beautifully illustrated throughout and thoughtfully presented. The author gives some useful advice on achieving the Art Deco look without necessarily investing in period pieces. The only drawback is that the reader is left wishing there were more than the relatively brief 96 pages.

Wonderful illustration.......1999-05-03

I would not suggest this book for informational content. I would definately suggest it if you are looking for some great examples of Art Deco and how you can use Deco pieces in an interior. This book has fabulous illustrations.

Art Deco Architecture: Design, Decoration, and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties

Average customer rating:

Art Deco Architecture: Design, Decoration, and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties
Patricia Bayer
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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Art Deco | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Home & Garden Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Art Deco House
Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s
Art Deco House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book
American Art Deco: Modernistic Architecture and Regionalism
Art Deco: 1910-1939

ASIN: 0500281491

Book Description

Art Deco buildings, with their highly ornate facades and dramatic forms, are a vital part of our surroundings. The movie theaters, hotels, apartment blocks, and other landmarks of the twenties and thirties preserve the visual identity of this unmistakable style in towns and cities the world over. This exploration of Art Deco architectural design embraces many different times and places in its visual and verbal account of the movement's origins, development, and influence. Various types of architecture, the author explains, were termed Art Deco, and their antecedents were mixed and often surprising: Arts and Crafts, fin-de-sicle Vienna, Cubism, Expressionism, and the Bauhaus. Art Deco's sheer exuberance ensured its success across the globe, and it adapted to the most diverse situations, as shown by examples ranging from offices in Europe and gas stations in America to maharajahs' palaces in India and imperial dwellings in Japan. Public buildings of all kinds--whether fountain or state capitol, skyscraper or bus terminal--bear witness to its decades of popularity. Despite its historic pedigree, Art Deco design is very much alive today. Post-modernism has borrowed its repertoire of motifs and idioms to produce what, in some cases, amounts to a full-blown revival. Many of the original buildings still survive, now restored to their former glory, to be admired and enjoyed. Sumptuously illustrated, this unrivaled study provides a comprehensive guide to the best loved of all twentieth-century architectural styles.

Deco LAndmarks: Art Deco Gems of Los Angeles

Average customer rating:

Art Deco Gems
LA Deco form A to Z
Deco Delights of LaLa Land!
FANTASTIC!
LAX Deco

Deco LAndmarks: Art Deco Gems of Los Angeles
Arnold Schwartzman
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Historic Preservation | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Art Deco | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Los Angeles Art Deco (Images of America)
Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles
New York Deco
The Historic Core of Los Angeles (Images of America)
Art Deco New York

ASIN: 0811846016

Book Description

Before it was famous for its midcentury commercial design, Los Angeles was already a treasure trove of elegant architecture in the Art Deco style. Products of the streamlined design aesthetic of the 1920s and New Deal building during the 1930s, many of these buildings fell into disrepair or were marred by ill-fitting façades in later years. But recently they have become the focus of intense preservation efforts, appreciated once again for their timeless charm. This glorious survey features hundreds of color photographs from across the L.A. Basin—with dazzling details from the majestic to the whimsical—that define Art Deco style. With a foreword by Bevis Hillier, the critic who coined the term Art Deco, here's a gem for Deco buffs and Los Angeles aficionados alike.

Customer Reviews:

Art Deco Gems.......2006-12-11

A must own book on the Los Angeles Art Deco era. Fantastic pictures and descriptions of buildings past and present in Los Angeles. You can really tell the author did his homework on this one! Buy it.

LA Deco form A to Z.......2006-03-16

As a current member of 3 Art Deco Socities (NY, LA and Chicago)and owner of at least 30 books on Art Deco, this book told me nothing new or enlightning. I am not in any way a Deco authority, but it would be nice to read (and see) something new about LA. Most photos are a rehash of already printed material and many need additional shots to explain the architecture. For example: the Wiltern Theatre. The interior is 1000% more fantastic than the one exterior photo used. The Wiltern is one of the best examples of theatre deco ever designed.

But, for those that have never set foot in LA, this book may suffice their deco urge.

Deco Delights of LaLa Land!.......2006-01-31

If you're "into" this sort of thing--and you enjoy marveling at Deco Architecture and sculptural designs--L.A.'s treasures add up to the next most bountiful trove of this type offered by the Three Deco Capitals of the U.S. (the Big Apple and ChiTown lead the way). But clearly the City where the aesthetic entered our collective consciousness by way of its movie product and its film set designs is the obvious place to look. LA's major growth occurred during the heyday of Deco and so much of its urban conceptualization was permeated by that design sense. This author is very informative regarding the artists and designers that created LA's "gems." So it provides an interesting read as well as enthralling eye-candy.

FANTASTIC!.......2006-01-14

This book is a must for lovers of Art Deco architecture (which I am)and for lovers of Los Angeles (which I also am)and for those who are tired of east coast critics who decry Los Angeles as being void of architecture. To say that is so far from the truth and this book illustrates it perfectly.

LAX Deco.......2005-09-23

Arnold Schwartzman has taken all the photos in this lovely book and as he says in the introduction he decided to focus mostly on detail rather than a whole building. A wise choice because so much of what he covers is not exactly at eye level. Just flick through the pages and be amazed at the amount of exterior Deco delights still standing and hopefully now preserved.

Hundreds of photos are arranged in these four chapters, Tile & Terrazzo, Glass & Neon, Stone & Plaster and Metal & Wood and as Schwartzman took them the color and compositions have a pleasant evenness throughout the pages and this certainly makes all the detail sparkle.

I particularly liked the chapter on stone and plaster with dozens of photos showing just how creative some stonemasons were decades ago, just look pages 122-123 and see six stunning interpretations of the American Eagle.

If you live in Los Angles this super book will be a useful checklist of what to see (the captions all give the street address) for others, like me, it is a good visual record of the best Art Deco gems in LA.

2007 UPDATE: Schwartzman has published a similar book about Art Deco in London (ISBN 1845132432) lots of photos especially of exterior detailing not really visible from the ground.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Le Style Elle Deco Voyage: The Best of Elle Deco No3/Travel & Style (Best of Elle Deco)

Average customer rating:

My favourite book!

Le Style Elle Deco Voyage: The Best of Elle Deco No3/Travel & Style (Best of Elle Deco)
Editions Filipacchi
Manufacturer: Editions Filipacchi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Style | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 285018649X

Customer Reviews:

My favourite book!.......2000-01-14

It is my first time to read this kind of "ELLE Deco" book. So amazing! Very beautiful pictures, good photography..... after reading this book and seeing those beautiful photographs.... I really want to go those charming places! If you love travelling... or if you like architecture, or interior design, or just like good life-style... I strongly recommend you to read this book! I love it so much!

Paris Fashions: The Art Deco Style of the 1920's

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Paris Fashions: The Art Deco Style of the 1920's
Madeleine Ginsburg
Manufacturer: Smithmark Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0831767383

Average customer rating:

Perfect transaction
Beautiful and informative but not helpful to me.
More than Deco
Good text, good photos and dull layout.

The Art Deco House
Adrian Tinniswood
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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Decoration & Ornament | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Art Deco | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Art Deco House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book
Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s
Art Deco Architecture: Design, Decoration, and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties
Art Deco: 1910-1939
Art Deco Furniture: The French Designers

ASIN: 0823003159

Book Description

Modern architecture between the two world wars was a deliberate rejection of the past, causing a tension between traditional concepts of the home as warm, intimate, and comfortable and cool, futuristic visions of the house as a technological paradise. Art deco was an attempt to resolve these tensions. Some of the most popular and influential architects and designers of the past 150 years-Norman Bel Geddes and Richard Neutra, working in the US; Robert Mallet-Stevens in France; and Berthold Lubetkin in the UK-designed houses that could be defined as being in the art deco style. And art deco today enjoys a new popularity unrivaled since its inception in the 1920s. In The Art Deco House, architectural historian Adrian Tinniswood combines fascinating text and stunning photography to create an essential reference for anyone who loves art deco design. Captivating chapters provide detailed overviews of the design, decoration, furnishings, and gardens of the art deco house, covering such themes as streamline moderne, modernist ideas for estates and apartment blocks, urbanism and domestic design, and more. Within each chapter, special stand-alone features draw upon literature, magazines, and museum exhibitions of the day to demonstrate the style and philosophy of the art deco movement. This remarkable guide also features hundreds of stunning, full-color examples of a broad range of art deco houses, including the House of Tomorrow by Norman Bel Geddes; the Henry House in Utrecht, Holland; Geragh in Sandycove, Dublin; and Rudolf Schindler's Los Angeles home.

Customer Reviews:

Perfect transaction.......2007-01-12

Thanks. The shipping is a little long, like usually with books coming from USA.
To recommend
Olivier

Beautiful and informative but not helpful to me........2005-02-01

This book is full of beautiful pictures and is well written. However, I was expecting a book about the average art-deco home. This book featured only the more extravagant homes of the time. It did not help me decide how to furnish my modest 1930's home.

More than Deco.......2004-02-08

The opening sentence "One of the big issues that exercised the minds and consciences of architects and social commentators between the two world wars was the future of domestic architecture" sets the tone for the book that follows. It discusses all of Modernism in the Twenties and Thirties, not just Art Deco, including Rietveld-Schroder and Villa Savoy among the Deco houses. It gives the context of the famous "machines for living" quote, often used as a rallying cry of the anti-Modernists, but which actually only refers to the thermostatically-controlled central heating, hot and cold running water, and other conveniences that were new back then.

The author talks about the personalities, events and the Jazz Age itself as much as the houses, explaining the style had none of the intellectual seriousness of the International Style, was usually very expensive, and was never big in Britain.

It's a very substantive book, full of interesting pictures, from an extremely knowledgeable and charming author.

Good text, good photos and dull layout........2002-05-05

There are some glorious color photos in this book of Art Deco (or Moderne) houses. Twenty-nine are featured as well as places like Miami Beach, Los Angeles apartments and Napier, New Zealand. This last place is the Deco capital of the southern hemisphere and I think there should have been more photos than just the four shown.

Each house starts on a spread (frequently with a photo of the architect) and Adrian Tinniswood explains in detail the thinking behind the design. He also writes additional essays on other aspects of Deco style. Unfortunately there are no plans to any of the houses, something I would have thought was fairly essential to a book of historical architecture. I've always wanted to see a plan of the amazing Butler House in Des Moines.

A major disappointment for me was the bland layout. Each page has only one column which makes the photo sizes very inflexible, most pages end up with one photo and a lot of empty white space. Someone should have suggested using more photos (especially interiors) and creating some interesting side-bars.

The twenty-nine houses featured are probably the best examples of the Art Deco style but have a look at two other books on the same subject, 'The Modern House Today' by Kenneth Powell, wonderful color photos of sixty-five still standing Moderne houses in England and 'Classic Modern Homes of the Thirties' by James and Katherine Ford, an inexpensive black and white reprint of a 1940 book featuring houses in America. Both these books have some floor plans.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Floral Patterns: 120 Full Color Designs in the Art Nouveau Style (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Average customer rating:

Floral Patterns: 120 Full Color Designs in the Art Nouveau Style (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
M. P. Verneuil
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorative Arts | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Art Deco | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Art Nouveau Floral Patterns and Stencil Designs in Full Color (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

ASIN: 0486241122

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