4 essentials if you want to decorate like Gatsby

It’s the early 1920s, New York. You have a lovely estate in Long Island and friends are always popping in for the most extravagant parties, thrown together on a whim. WWI is now officially history and a culture of escapism has emerged. Escape from the war and escape from the industrious factory work that won the war and now brings higher wages, automobiles and radio to the masses.

People are drunk with wealth and these marvels of the new industries and throw themselves into lifestyles of Jazz, parties and ornately decorated homes that indicate their sophistication and social standing.

Art Deco is born

In celebration of modern life and the machine age – the ability to mould and shape hard metals and stone into new shapes – homes sport a mix of mass-produced goods and uniquely created items of opulence. Abstract, geometric forms and sleek design materials such as metal and marble are commonplace in every home.

Now that have you have the background, let’s decorate like Gatsby, today!

Metallics

Matellics in the décor world have experienced a revival in recent years and 2017 is no exception. Instead of the more paired down old gold and copper we’ve become comfortable with, try a braver, more dazzling approach by incorporating one slick, shiny item such as a mirrored server or drinks trolley. Crystal embellishments are also completely appropriate.

Rapee

Green

In the 1920’s, green was a popular colour due to the green marble and verdite they used in so many of their homes and decorative items. Today we’re still all about green, but for different reasons. Today, we embrace Greenery for its calming, healing qualities and because it’s a reminder that we should consider nature and its well-being – even in fashion. Green also happens to be the colour of the light at the end of Daisy’s dock.

Zillow

Dusty Pink

Introduced last year as Rose Quartz, it’s still a popular and versatile colour, which speaks to tolerance and love. In the 1920’s pink was commonplace due to the granite Art Deco loved to use. It also goes a long way in softening the harsh, geometric metal shapes of this décor style.

Decor Pad

Houzz, Ceasarstone

Mass Produced Flowers

Along the lines of embracing nature, we’ve also seen a revival of floral arrangements and motifs in our homes and more recently, artificial flowers in popular home stores. While we may look back on this particular trend with shame a few years down the line, they’re an economical addition if you don’t want to keep replacing the real deal.

IMDb

Gatsby Decor-In-A-Box

I’ve had a look around our local homeware stores for a couple of items that fit neatly into these four key elements and came up with the following design.