We’ve recently started a series on how to bring specific design inspirations to your office decor… First we looked at ways to have preppy-inspired decor. Today, let’s take a look at how to add Art Deco style to your office!
Readers, do you enjoy Art Deco style? Do you have any elements of it in your home or office?
{related: how to make your office more comfortable}
What Is Art Deco Style?
First, I thought it might be helpful to have a general inspiration board — all images come from Wikipedia.
I absolutely adore Art Deco style, so this was a lot of fun. I realized that some things I thought were Art Deco, like Tiffany lamps and curved chaises, are actually Art Nouveau. (In fact, Art Deco was a response to Art Nouveau — compare the Paris Métro entrances, with swooping curves, to the geometric lines and sharp angles of, say, the Chrysler Building.)
I’ve seen some places on the web that characterize Frank Lloyd Wright as Art Deco, but according to the better sources it looks like his early work grew out of the Arts and Crafts movement (before it became the Prairie School). This article on the Saatchi website compares and contrasts Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Arts & Crafts.
This post from TheArtStory gives a great history of the style; you can also check out these other Art Deco guides from Architectural Digest, The Spruce, and Apartment Therapy. In general I think of Art Deco as having straight lines, geometric shapes, and a fairly dark color scheme with lots of gilded details and saturated jewel tones.
(I’m obviously not an expert here, but if you are an expert I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!)
Next, here’s our general vision board:
I should note that I’m not suggesting you put all of these pieces in one office — but these are all inspirational-type pieces that you might choose a few of to place in your cubicle, private office, or home office.
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{related: the logistics of decorating your office}
How to Add Art Deco Style To Your Cubicle or Other Shared Office Space
You may feel like you’re limited here because so many Art Deco pieces are BIG — pieces of furniture! crazy wallpaper patterns! But there are a bunch of small things you can do to bring an Art Deco style to your cubicle.
Some easy things: file folders and file holders. Pencil cups. Bookends. There are a ton of affordable Art Deco artworks you can find at Etsy and Society 6 if you have some wall space. If you wanted to go really big, you could cover any bulletin boards with an Art Deco wallpaper or poster, and then use them as you regularly would.
Another fun idea: If you’re the type of person who prints labels for folders, binders, and other items, you could always download some Art Deco fonts. This pack from Etsy is only $7. Prefer free? Google fonts Limelight and Poiret One both have some Art Deco elements.
A few of the pieces I saw that would add Art Deco style to a cubicle:
{related: how to decorate your workspace}
How to Add Art Deco Style to Your Private Office
If Your Office Already Has Dark Wood Furniture
If you have a basic corporate office with dark wood furniture, you’re already on your way — I tend to think of Art Deco as having a very heavy, dark style a lot of the time. In that instance I’d work to bring in gold pieces to brighten the space up, such as with a sunburst mirror or other wall decor.
On your side of the desk I’d go with an Art Deco inspired lamp, pencil cup, file folders, file holders, maybe even labels in a specialty font as noted above. On the visitor’s side I’d add some throw pillows or a throw blanket with geometric patterns, bookends or picture frames, and maybe even an acrylic tray. (If you’re someone who keeps alcohol in your office, there are a ton of beautiful Art Deco decanters out there.)
If you really want to get fancy, you could bring in a special desk chair or visitor’s chair, or even go for an Art Deco couch or chaise. If you’re the kind of person whose office furniture needs to allow you to occasionally take a nap on it, I’d go for an LC4-inspired chaise instead of a couch — they just look more comfortable.
Another thought: you could add curtains or window film in an Art Deco-inspired pattern — the window film is pictured in the inspiration photo, but there are a ton of choices.
Some pieces that would work if you have a dark office:
{related: office decor: how nice is too nice?}
If Your Office Is Corporate White or Gray
If your office isn’t already in dark colors and you’re working with corporate white or gray, I’d stick to some of the advice above for the cubicle. You might also want to bring in some Hollywood Regency inspiration along with your Art Deco — think silver instead of gold, fuchsia/sapphire instead of emerald/rust, and so forth. (These are just a few ideas…)
{related: decorating office walls: 3 ways to jazz it up}
How to Add Art Deco Style to Your Home Office
As always, you can have a lot more fun with your home office. Wallpaper! Geometric wainscoting! Furniture! Architectural features like columns! You can do it!
If you’re making big office furniture purchases, you can absolutely go for one of the amazing Art Deco desks out there. (The pictured one is from Anthropologie and is $1698.)
Another idea: You could modify or upcycle some older furniture to add inlay (such as this one from Etsy) or painted features (this article from Upcycle has some great Art Deco-inspired DIY ideas), or just go for dark colored furniture in general. (Estate sales are a great place to find a dark desk… unless you want a keyboard tray.)
You can also add a chaise or chair, or go for a barrel chair or the more bench-like chaise. (The one we’re picturing has STORAGE, too!!) Another easy hack: adding a throw blanket or some pillows that have Art Deco elements.
You can have a lot of fun with lighting elements, also, from sconces to flush mounts and more.
Some general ideas for an Art Deco-inspired home office:
{related: livening up your office walls}