With the movie “The Great Gatsby” coming out on May 10th you will be hearing and seeing a lot of reference made about Art Deco. The original book “The Great Gatsby,” was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and was published in 1925. The story takes place in the 20’s. Before you go out and see the spectacular set in the movie a brief synopsis of the style is in order. The Art Deco Style came about at a happy time after WWI. People were relieved and the economy strengthened. In 1925, the World’s Fair in Paris highlighted up and coming artists designs. Art Deco is characterized by smooth clean lines. The textiles used were shark or sting ray hide, zebra prints, ultra fine leather, vinyl, suede, and mohair. Furniture was made of glass, metal, chrome, and wood. The furniture was not only curvy, but, highly lacquered and often made of several inlays. The furniture was made of rosewood, teak, maple, walnut, zebrawood, ebony, marble, violet-wood, ambonia, and mahogany. Mirrors and glass were also used in the furniture. Sometimes the furniture would also have embellishments such as stones, quartz, onyx, jade, ivory, and murano glass. The patterns of the style were geometric shapes, zigzagged, graduated stepped, chevron patterns and shapes resembling the sun. Some motifs include leaves, branches, feathers, jagged pointed edges, and trapezoids. The colors of the time were neutrals, black, grey, silver, white and bolder colors such as maroon, blue, yellow, gold, red, pinks, and green. Here you can see examples of the style: http://www.houzz.com/art-deco

First the eye sees the totality of a room, then, it continues to dissect individual elements. When viewing a space, the mind instinctively tries to find patterns and consistencies. Gestalt Theory in psychology explains this in more detail. Basically it is a theory that explains how the brain perceives visually. The theory explains how the mind categorizes information and also explains how in design there are certain patterns on how to use this information to our advantage in order to ensure an aesthetic appeal. Some of the categories in this theory states how proximity, repetition, continuation, and variety can be used in a way to achieve visual unity. Proximity refers to like elements being placed within close proximity to one another. Repetition is using a design element over and over within the space. Continuation refers to achieving a sense of movement by placing the item so that the eye can follow it in an imaginary line around a room. Variety means that you play with elements within your design by changing the size, texture, and form that the element takes. Using the square shape in the pillows, wall art, and tables, you are using repetition. When you change the color or size of the squares represented you are utilizing the theory of variety.

Okay the process is pretty simple and fun. First enlist someone to help you measure. Measure the length and width of the room in a straight line. Also measure the height of the walls from floor to ceiling. Multiply the length of each wall by the height of the wall. This will be your square footage for the walls. Next add up all the areas doors (if using a different color for the doors), windows, and fireplaces) by multiplying the length x width of each item. Add each of those square footages together. Now subtract the square footage of the doors, windows, and fireplace (if any) from your first calculation for the walls. After you subtract for those items you are not going to paint, you end up with your final square footage. In order to find out how much the paint will spread divide the final square footage by 350. A gallon typically covers 350 square feet, for rough surfaces divide by 300. For your convenience, Benjamin Moore and Behr have paint calculators if you run into trouble. Use the same process for trim and doors. Only paint in a well ventilated area with the windows open on warm days so that you can air out the room without being cold. Use frog tape instead of the blue painters tape, it works better. If you are pregnant, don’t take any chances painting or being around any chemicals for that matter.

Eero Saarinen was born August 20th, 1910 in Kirkkonummi, Finland to Eliel and Loja Gesellius Saarinen. Eero was set up from birth to be a great artist, designer, and architect. Eero’s father Eliel Saarinen, was a well respected architect and his mother, Loja Saarinen was a weaver, photographer, sculptor, and architectural modeler, and textile designer. In 1923, Eero and his family moved to the United States and settled North of Detroit, Michigan. Artistic expression was a way of life and he grew up with a strong sense of respect and responsibility towards creative development. Eero was quoted in 1959 saying, “The purpose of architecture is to shelter and enhance man’s life on earth and to fulfill his belief in the nobility of his existence.” As early as the age of 12, Eero was creating architecture, where in 1922 he won first place in a matchstick design contest. His father co-founded the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Eero worked with his father as an apprentice architect. Eero graduated from Yale University School of Architecture in 1934. In 1936, he became an instructor of design and joined as a partner at his father’s architecture firm. After his father’s death in 1950, he became the principal partner of Saarinen & Associates. Saarinen & Associates was featured in Time magazine in 1956. Notable architectural projects are the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, Dulles International Airport Terminal, Kresge Auditorium on the MIT campus, GM Technical Center, and the TWA Terminal in New York. He collaborated with Charles Eames, whom he first met at Cranbrook. Together they won first prize at the Museum of Modern Art’s Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition in 1940. Eames worked for Herman Miller and Saarinen designed for Knoll. We carry reproductions of his Tulip Dining Table, Side Table, Side Chair, Arm Chair, and the Womb Chair. In addition, we have just added 4 new Tulip Lamps. We have the Tulip Floor Lamp and Table lamp in both black and white listed under living room at very low prices. He was married twice and had 3 children, 2 from his first, and 1 from his second marriage. He passed away in 1961 while undergoing brain surgery for Cancer. He was 51 years old. His partners and Saarinen & Associates Kevin Roche and John Dinkelo finished his last 10 projects. In 2001, Roche donated Saarinen’s work to the Yale University Library.

I have scoured the sources looking for design trends. What are the designer’s doing? In modern interior design I see a lot of animal prints, creams, beiges, black, white, and different tones of gray. This year it is all about varying textures of warmth vs. cool. Warmth is seen with textured fabric, neutral hues, and wood. On the other end of the spectrum is the cool side in modern design. Along with blacks, whites, there are shades of grey and darker shaded purples. The modern design color scheme of coarse goes with the personality of the design, the desired outcome and emotions the designer wants to evoke in the people using the room. If you want a lighthearted place of gathering one would use a white backdrop and include varying colors of green, blue, and turquoise. Bold colored bright happy colored glass is very popular right now. There has been a resurgence of tufted upholstered furniture. I am seeing tufted furniture in modern designs, making it more of an eclectic atmosphere. There are also softer trends such as lace being added once again to interiors. Hmmm, sounds a little like Victorian is resurging and competing for attentions. No one is coming out and saying it, but that is what it is. Florals are coming into the picture on a white background in fabrics. Another thing that will be popular is letters on walls. What??? Yes, can you believe that people are writing on walls as part of the décor? It is a way of communicating what you would like people to feel, the same way designers design around evoking an emotional response, some are just writing it. A message that inspires, encourages, or ignites an emotional response is great as long as it is done in a tasteful artistic way, why not? Re-purposing is a huge thing along with being green friendly. Designers have been repurposing furniture and other household items for years. Designer’s such as Nate Berkus way back on Oprah Winfrey’s show was repurposing items. It is seen more and more as the socially conscious wake up to global warming and waste being produced. Other examples of repurposing on TV are HGTV’s show with Lara Spencer on Friday nights called “Flee Market Flip” and storage wars Texas. Plants are coming in from the cold once again. This time around it is for a deeper purpose. Green’s are being used not only for an aesthetic purpose but to also purify the air. Green is a natural calming color.