The Art Deco period was an amazing period where there had been an explosion of change. It has been described as a divinely elegant, sophisticated, sexy, and truly stunning era. This I would have to agree with. It marked a period in our history an incredibly huge shift in the way people lived.

I bought a Deco home in Adelaide and made a conscious effort to retain its heritage. It has been difficult to source the right furnishings to create a well balanced Art Deco look and feel.

Here are my five tips on how to create an Art Deco theme:

1. Select the colour for your walls. Think before you leap here though. You need to consider your room size as not all colours would be suited. If your room is on the small size then perhaps an ivory, antique white or paler colour would be a better option. You might find that not all colours on your hardware store shelves are the right choice especially when trying to recreate a deco look.
2. Select the floor coverings. What I had done was pull up the old carpet and polished the beautiful floorboards in a high gloss. I did not take on this task myself but got a professional in. Once this was completed I then looked around for floor coverings that were neutral in colour and would not visually demand attention. I simply chose a massive rug in a soft mink colour.
3. Select the right sofa. A sofa needs to be comfortable and easy on the eye but it is so important to select a sofa that has a art deco look to it. There are many club sofas to choose from and these are usually purchased second hand. These can easily be recovered. Fabrics can be chosen in an assortment of designs and finishes. To keep to the deco look I chose a fabric that was rich in texture but plain in design. It was the cushions that I used to bring in stripes and angular shapes that created the deco look. I once again selected neutral colours but a darker shade of my rug. If you prefer to not go for the club sofa look then there are many sofas available that have an angular shape to them. These are the best designs to go for.
4. Select the right decorative pieces. The use of the word decorative pieces means to select tables, lamps, vases, ornaments etc. These are pieces that you may find on ebay, websites or your local newspaper. I was able to find some interesting art deco frames from garage sales around the corner and also managed to pick up an amazing Art Deco bronze women sitting on a seat. She is very tall and very elegant. When selecting these pieces ensure that each piece compliments the other and place them in the room in such a way that they do not create clutter. I used a small round side table to place my bronze looked great. I also used the fireplace mantle to place my frames.
5. Select the right wall art. There are many choices today with Art Deco wall art. These include: posters, reproduction prints and of course the very expensive originals. If you are like me then buying an original piece of art is out of the question. Canvas Art Prints are certainly the way to go these days as they can be purchased as large as you want. Sometimes choosing an Art Deco print you may find that they are relatively small in size and you may need to purchase 2, 3 or even 4 of them to fill up a large wall space. Look around for Art Deco Canvas Art Prints you might be surprised with how easy they are to find and how inexpensive they are.

Good luck with your Art Deco room theme. Let me know how you go!