Art Deco has been around for nearly 100 years now. If you’re wanting to recreate this elegant look in your home or office, it helps to study images from the period to get a sense of the interior design. We’re going to look at a couple of Art Deco era offices today and analyze the look of the period.

This is an example of early Art Deco. It’s the interior of the Studium-Louvre office-library in Paris. The photo is dated to 1925. First, note the symmetry in the walls of the room. The center piece of statuary is flanked by identical windows and wood paneling that curves around the sides to two alcoves. The Art Deco desk and lounge chairs break the symmetry, likely for space and for lighting purposes. Note the French base on the feet of the desk.

This is the interior of an office in 1937 that was designed by Hedrich Blessing, a famous Chicago design company that was responsible for a lot of public awareness of Art Deco. Note the extensive use of wood and the highly geometric pattern on the walls along with the triangle wall sconce. The desk is a triple-sided partner desk that serves as the focal point for the symmetry in the room. Take a look at the matching chairs and rugs and the dual elements on the shelf in the rear of the photo. It’s uncertain what the floor is made of in the photo, but it could very well be linoleum, a new flooring type during this era.

This is the Union Terminal President’s Office in Cincinnati. The first thing that strikes you is the circular nature of the room, almost like the Oval Office. The second is the thoroughly decadent use of rich woods. Parquetry is used throughout, including an image of the building itself over the door on the left and an image of the US on the right. The circular nature of the room befits a President’s office. In this space it is the Art Deco desk and the President that form the element of symmetry that the room revolves around. 

This is the interior of an office of the National Cash Register Company dated from 1939 by Samuel H. Gottscho. This company created the first cash registers powered by electric motors and developed one of the first automated credit systems. The company later became NCR and is still in existence today. 
Again, we note the symmetry of the Art Deco period. The huge wooden arches serve to separate sectors of the space, with workers along the edges and a meeting space in the center. On the left looks like a small break area and the exit is to the right. Note the antique cash registers in the foreground. The whole room exudes a sense of solidity and permanency, a common feature in office architecture of the time. 

Hopefully these images will help you in your planning of your Art Deco office. We have several office pieces in our showroom. Browse our catalog or contact us for more information.