My house was built in 1872, so it’s “lived” through everything from the sinking of the Titanic to the Great Depression to the Civil Rights Movement to hair metal.
If these walls could talk, right?
While we’re lucky to have a lot of great original features — hello, 19th-century woodwork — I’ve been leaning into my favorite style, Art Deco, while redecorating the master bedroom suite.
Instead of buying vintage artwork, I wanted to turn two of my favorite quotes — “There’s a bar in far Bombay” from Frank Sinatra’s “Come Fly With Me” and “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine” from Casablanca — into custom 1920s-inspired typography prints for the wall above the bed. I was so lucky to find designer Justine McNair, who immediately understood my vision, and executed incredible Art Deco glam artwork in no time at all.
In speaking to Justine about her passion for the Roaring Twenties era, she shared:
“While studying design styles, I found Art Deco. It innately felt as if my love for antiquities and passion for design had collided into one. I had just stumbled upon a world where old becomes new again. The world of vintage typography. All I wanted to do was consume more. From there, I began taking on as many projects that fell into this category.”
For those unfamiliar with the decade, Alex White’s “Thinking In Type” notes that the 1920s were a period of “exponential typographic growth and experimentation.” In fact, W.A. Dwiggins coined the term “graphic design” in 1922.
During my conversation with Justine, she shared additional details about how she approaches projects in the modern world, while never forgetting where the typographic arts began:
“[When] I met Rebekah, she had a wonderful vision for two art deco posters and I couldn’t wait to help her bring them to life.
As I do for my other projects, I started by building a mood-board to gather more inspiration. I do this by searching for images, texts, colors that convey the final style I am wanting to achieve. For this project, I found myself looking at old movie posters and vintage invitations. Rebekah and I collaborated back and forth, making revisions until she had the perfect posters for her room.”
Working with Justine was an absolute pleasure, and I hope you’ll turn to her to help you transform your space with new artwork. You can find her on Instagram at Evelyn Design Co.
I also found the ideal frames to complement the Art Deco style of Justine’s work. Vossington offers sleek, high-quality products that will protect your cherished photos and art prints for years to come. I went with gold for this particular project.
They say that paint is the easiest way to completely change the look of a room but new art also has a way of lifting your mood and giving your home an aesthetic boost.
Make sure to tell me what you’re going to have Justine create for you in the comments — I’ll just be over here listening to the Chairman of the Board on repeat.