In 2003, under the stewardship of the brilliant Sir Mark Jones, the V&A staged an exhibition that succeeded in rehabilitating Art Deco, a style that had, for too long, been associated with bingo halls, junk shops and tired south-coast resorts.
Almost overnight, the stately Claridge’s, which had previously laboured under a reputation as the grand dame of West End hotels, became rather cool. Within a couple of years, Urban Splash, an achingly trendy Manchester property developer, breathed new life into the Midland Hotel in Morecambe, Oliver Hill’s Art Deco masterpiece that — to bastardise a phrase from a former editor of Saga magazine — had for many years been ‘more hip replacement than hip’.
The Art Deco era offered a deep new well of inspiration for designers working across a wide range of areas, from tableware and furniture to interiors and architecture. This was no stylistic flash in the pan; the effect of the show was more about dusting off Art Deco and welcoming it back into the mainstream than precipitating any breathless ‘Art Deco is the new Georgian’ vacuity.
Almost two decades later the influence of the exhibition is still responsible for simple, beautiful variations on a theme that combine the modern affection for clean lines and crisp details. It has also impacted on kitchen design, notably in ranges by Smallbone — such as Macassar — while another kitchen brand, Chiselwood, completed a project a couple of years ago with another exciting variation on a pleasing theme.
Martin Moore, which launched a 'New Deco' kitchen a couple of years ago that was inspired by the luxurious look of the 1930s, with marble finishes as well as metallic and ceramic detailing — plus the option of discreet banquet seating that wouldn’t look out of place in one of the great classic cruise liners of the era. Almost a century on, Art Deco is the stylistic revival that just keeps on giving.
Credit: Plain English
What modern kitchens can learn from early-Georgian simplicity
Credit: Butson
A stunning country kitchen, which draws inspiration from the late Victorian kitchen at Lanhydrock, Cornwall
The kitchen of Lanhydrock House in Cornwall provided the inspiration for a stunning new kitchen, designed by Bruce Hodgson of
-
Everything you need to know about Hampstead: The real star of 'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy'From Protestant Dissenters to Dame Judi Dench, Hampstead has long been synonymous with liberal values and prosperity — which is what makes it different from other parts of London. Now, it's stealing hearts the world over in the latest Bridget Jones film.
-
Guess the country house price, David Stirling and the King without a moustache: Country Life Quiz of the Day 19 February 2025Have a go at Wednesday's Quiz of the Day. Good luck!
-
How to create a serene, yet hard-working kitchenPlain English worked with antique dealer Robert Young to make this traditional kitchen with an effortlessly relaxing colour scheme that marries perfectly with the views over beautiful gardens.
-
Why kitchens are going green — literallyGreen is the perfect colour for a kitchen, says Amelia Thorpe.
-
The chimneypiece by Sir John Soane that still inspires designers to this dayThe reductivist simplicity of a chimney piece designed 200 years ago by Sir John Soane explains the architect’s reputation as a founding father of Modernism.
-
A modern kitchen perfectly framed by the exquisite ancient beamsArtichoke designed a discreet and timeless kitchen to complement a converted granary. Amelia Thorpe takes a look.
-
Yes, you can put a new kitchen in a Grade I-listed house — and this beautiful example shows howTraditional cabinetry was a key ingredient in the sympathetic restoration of a Grade I-listed Tudor house in Shropshire.
-
A London townhouse kitchen transformed to be sociable, practical and charmingThe new owners of this London townhouse have reconfigured it to create a sociable space for cooking and entertaining.
-
A beautiful new kitchen sympathetically created for a 16th century manor houseLimewash walls, a large island and plenty of open shelving combine to create a kitchen that’s sympathetic to this 16th-century manor house in Somerset.
-
Four ways to give your bedroom the luxury hotel treatmentGiles Kime explains how hotels can teach us to be ahead of inspirational design trends and how we can make our bedrooms design masterpieces.
