Shopping for Art Deco on Craigslist

Friend's Art Deco (with original art) home in Palm Desert, CA.

Several days ago, I wrote a blog called Art Deco in the Desert link in which I describe a wonderful Palm Desert, California, property decorated in "Art Deco - Mid Century" style. The owners had bought most of the furnishings at local consignment and thrift shops. I thought it was perfect for this location and so different from the typical decors I see and love here in the South. I wondered how hard it would be to duplicate this setting in this area by using a similar method. Instead of getting in my car and driving all over the vast metropolitan area, I took a craigslist short-cut to do some virtual shopping.

I used two search terms on craigslist - Art Deco and Mid-Century Furniture - and got a lot of hits. I would estimate that only about 20% came close to the the mark (as I envisioned it) but there was definitely a lot to ponder and review. There does appear to be some difference between the two concepts in terms of timing. Art Deco is often described as being in its heyday in the 1920 - 1930's  while Mid-Century was, well, mid-century - 50's and 60's.

Here's a description of Art Deco Furniture - I love the "attitude" comment:

The Art Deco period rose in the early part of the 20th century from a conglomeration of other art styles, including Art Nouveau and Neoclassical. In the United States, the Art Deco rage peaked during the Roaring '20s, while the nation was recovering from World War I. The furniture from this period has some distinct and defining overtones and architecture that reflect the uplifted moods of the citizens as they shed their inhibitions and focused on decorative elements that reinforced their new avant-garde attitudes. Description plus Fact Sheet.

 Clearly not everyone who labels their pieces "art deco" is consistent in the application of the various definitions. Here are some samples of what I found.

Some of these pieces actually looked like some of the examples I saw on-line. I didn't care for them, however, and thought they were too bulky and dark. 

I thought these were closer to the basic styles that I enjoyed in the Palm Desert decor - I could visualize using these in a color-saturaed setting. 

While these were not exactly bright, I thought their sleek designs would work well with bright color furnishings and accessories.

Here were some of the pieces that came up when I used "Mid Century Furniture" as a search term. I definitely remember the tapered legs and streamlined look of this 60's furniture from my youth. Again, this wasn't exactly what I was looking for although a few of these pieces might blend well.

Some bold-colored case pieces that might work well in the setting. The red media cabinet is from Ikea and I have noticed that a lot of their furnishings might work in this setting.

Here are some some lighting and tables labeled "art deco" - the multicolored piece above was quite pricey ($750). 

I enjoyed my virtual shopping experience and concluded that I would probably not have any difficulties executing this style in our area. I did note that some of the pieces were quite pricey for items all labeled "for sale by owner" - I did not include any dealer information and suspect that there are plenty available in the area.

Finally, I saw this piece labeled as art deco and couldn't quite decide if I could work with it - what do you think?

Chair labeled Art Deco on Craigslist