What style of wallpaper would be appropriate in an art deco living room? Standard wallpaper books have designs called "Victorian" and "Arts & Craft" but art deco. What would an "art deco" wallpaper look like?

-- Donna Crisalli (dmcmah@starpower.net), January 26, 2002

Answers

I've been in the same quandry for a few years. I'm trying to figure out what to do in my bathroom. It has mauve tile with a black & white floor. It has a miniture border of black and mauve squares. Its actually beautiful tile... The horrible victorian flower stuff I put up is BAD.

My cousin (an architech)suggested simple Mackintosh (the Scottish furniture designer and arcitech) lines. His work is like Stickley. I'm going to paint the walls a mild cream and make thin black lines with a small geometric designs -- maybe a little silver or gold accent. (He suggested this last night so I'm still in the oh, yeah that might work stage :-))

-- (Maureen_fitzpatrick@yahoo.com), September 09, 2002.

I'm in the same dilema with the bathroom I am redecorating. I have powder pink tile and pink sink, loo & tub. I am putting in a high- gloss black & white tile, and replacing the sink & loo with black ones (brass hardware). If I can't find the right wallpaper, I'm painting the walls above the tile white, and stenciling it with a repetative black silouette art deco design with gold accents. I think I'm going to gild the ceiling for added drama and install an art deco mirror with black & gold accents. To me, art deco wallpaper is a solid background with a large repetative pattern, such as the silouette of a couple waltzing, or a the silouette of a pair of palm trees...but it must be accented with gold! ...Black & white & gold ...with pink or teal or gold ...that's art deco.

-- Eniko DeLisle (eniko@adelphia.net), October 16, 2002.

You should check out Bradbury & Bradbury wall coverings. They produce replicas of original art deco,victorian, neo classical and arts & crafts wallcoverings. You can find them on the web.

-- Mandeline Hetzel (mandelinel@yahoo.com), January 13, 2003.

Forget Bradbury & Bradbury. Several years ago I worked as an interior design assistant, and I FINALLY found some art deco wallpaper in our B & B designs. Recently, I paid for their entire catalogue, and there isn't one single art deco design to be seen!

I am looking for something very geometric, or with specific images identified with art deco. I haven't had any luck, and plan to do a multi-color, multi-image border using homemade stencils and painter's tape.

Does anyone else have the problem of asking an interior designer for art deco wallpaper, art, rugs, etc., etc., only to be asked: "What is art deco? Is it a brand name?" Don't they teach this stuff?? I have been passed up for jobs many times, when in fact, I know more about art deco than any "degreed designer" I have ever met. DISAPPOINTED!!

-- jude rohan (decojude@yahoo.com), March 11, 2003.

We are currently redoing an art deco home....very unique. I have found a few wallpapers that are art deco style in the contempory section of our Sherwin Williams paint center. I redid one bedroom in a paper and it looks great. The rest of the house we've painted mainly for the reasons I've read here....finding art deco designs is very hard to do. I have one bathroom with a green tile (hard to find color) with black trim tile pieces, a mauve toilet, sink, and tub, and a black and white tile floor. If you have any ideas on what to do with the walls PLEASE contact me...I'm at a loss, but because it is all original tile and fixtures I will not remove them. Thanks for any info you can give me!

-- Claudia Carroll (clodcarroll@yahoo.com), March 25, 2003.

Same problem here. I would suggest going on-line to Amazon and ordering any Art Deco books by Dover Publications. They are very inexpensive and loaded with good ideas. Some books come with stencils only, which may help. I am at a loss for wallpaper, too. I did order an expensive Art Deco book on-line, but it was a waste of time as it was 80% text and 20% sketches not even very many pictures. The pictures/photos provided were from ships, buildings, restaurants, and lobbies of famous places. Not very inspiring for a home owner. I think paint is the only way to go. If you have a friend with the right software, you might be able to design your own pattern-repeat and paint that on the wall using that blue tape for sharp edges. I'm not sure how to handle curves, unless you use stencils. That's all I can think of. I am trying to pull together a 4,000 sq ft ballroom in Art Deco....sigh. Wish me luck on that one. I am going with art deco posters dry mounted on foam board and cool colors on the wall, and art deco wall sconces, etc. If you want a source for posters - they are all over the place. Just type in posters under Yahoo, or whatever...but I assume you already know this.

-- Ann McElroy (amc@twave.net), May 07, 2003.

I've the same problems with finding art deco wallpaper. But I've found something: William Morris, graphic designer 1880, designed some wallpaper in art deco style: Morrisstuff.com

-- Marian de Vink (habakuk@wxs.nl), July 26, 2003.

If you would consider stencils, I recommend The Stencil Library from the U.K. They have 8 pages of very authentic looking (I'm not an expert) art deco stencils, stencil borders, stencil tiles, all in the art deco motif. Their website is: http://www.stencil-library.com/docs/cat119.htm

-- Julie Taiber (julietaiber@hotmail.com), July 27, 2003.

: William Morris, graphic designer 1880, designed some wallpaper in art deco style...

Although some of the later Morris Company designs might work as Art Deco, the work of William Morris himself is IMHO really not appropriate. The Art Deco era is considered to have begun in 1925; Morris died in 1896.

-- Richard Binder (richard@virtualcrate.com), September 24, 2003.