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 enjoys a new popularity today, unrivalled 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 moderns; Modernist ideas for estates and apartment blocks; urbanism and domestic design; and more. Within each chapter, special stand-alone features draw upon contemporary literature, magazines, and museum exhibitions 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.
• An essential source-book of Art Deco style, with scores of resplendent illustrations
• Features little-known houses from the US, France, Ireland, Germany, and Austria
• Provides fascinating insight into the lives of Art Deco architects and their clients
• Art Deco style is enjoying a resurgence in popularity