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All about Art Deco


Regional and special colour palettes

Napier’s Art Deco buildings wouldn’t attract the tourists nearly as much as they do if they hadn’t been enhanced by their pastel colour schemes, which draw attention to the intricate bas relief decoration on their stucco facades.

These have been encouraged by the Napier City Council’s Art Deco Improvement Grants, which are paid to the building owners when they repaint, provided that the colour scheme has been approved by the Art Deco Trust.

In most cases, the Trust provides the colour scheme as well, using a palette of warm pastel shades, which are an echo of the original colours.

When Napier was rebuilt after the 1931 earthquake, the cement used in the stucco was tinted with oxides, including pink, green, blue and a variety of biscuit and ochre shades. Although this resulted in a remarkably colourful townscape at a time when most inner city buildings were grey cement plaster or brick, and paint colours were limited, those buildings would be rather sombre compared with the huge range of paint colours that we’re now used to seeing. So Napier today is more colourful than it was in the 1930s, yet still retains the softness and warmth that it had in the 1930s.

Resene works closely with the Art Deco Trust to keep Napier’s buildings resplendent in their Art Deco style.

The style we now call Art Deco originated in Europe in the early years of the 20th Century, and its heyday was from 1920-1940. It became widely known following the great Exposition des Arts Modernes Decoratifs et Industriels, held in Paris in 1925 and from which its name was ultimately derived. By the late 1930s it was in its streamlined phase and after World War 2, the International Style, devoid of all decoration, held sway. In the late 1960s, interest in the Art Deco style was rekindled and this interest has continued to grow.

Art Deco expressed all the vigour and optimism of the roaring twenties, and the idealism and escapism of the grim thirties. Its decorative themes are:

All of these themes are represented on the buildings of Napier, most of which are still standing today and are lovingly cared for by their owners.

Art Deco Building - McDonalds
Art Deco Building details
Art Deco Building details

The Art Deco style was at the height of its popularity for buildings in 1931. Its clean simple lines and base relief decoration suited the needs of the new city...

Other architectural styles for the period were also used – the Spanish Mission style from California, and both Stripped Classical and Classical Moderne, the styles of Greece and Rome but simplified and modernised. And local architect Louis Hay’s work strongly reflects Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style in the United States mid-west, which developed in the early years of the century.

The four architectural practices in Napier in 1931 banded together to share facilities and bring a unity of purpose to the task of rebuilding the town, working in shifts around the clock. But they continued (except in rare cases) to design the buildings individually. These firms were:

Other architects who worked in Napier in the 1930s were J T Watson who arrived in 1934 and became Borough Architect, and architects from other cities, chiefly Wellington, who were retained by banks, insurance companies and hotel chains to design their buildings throughout New Zealand.

If you dare to bring the drama of the roaring twenties into your home, a stylish and swanky wallpaper is the perfect place to start. Try one of these designs from the Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection – available from your local Resene ColorShop – to introduce some serious style.

note: most collections available 2-3 years only. The swatches below are from the Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection.

Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 309331
309331
Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 433937
433937
Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 610918
610918
Resene Modern Wallpaper Collection - 433241
433241
Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 433227
433227
Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 620924
620924
Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 433210
433210
Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 433234
433234
Resene Modern Wallpaper Collection - 433609
433609
Resene Modern Art Wallpaper Collection - 433647
433647
Resene Wallpaper Collection - 610734
610734
Resene Wallpaper Collection - 309317
309317
 

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Colours shown on this website are a representation only. Please refer to the actual paint or product sample. Resene colour charts, testpots and samples are available for ordering online.   See measurements/conversions for more details on how electronic colour values are achieved.

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