#ArtNouveau | Valentina Expressions

Exploring the Beauty of Liberty Style

Modern or antique buildings? Historical, patrician or utilitarian buildings? This is my dilemma when faced with so many styles of buildings. I must say, however, that one of the styles I can immediately eliminate is the wildly modern one, squared, with sharp angles, without any particular interesting lines and a lot of glass walls.

It seems to me that in large cities, the beautiful buildings erected in times gone by have remained to be admired and be part of the historical landscape, but in the suburbs, I have the impression that architects tend much more towards the modern style. Buildings of Art Déco, Art Nouveau and Liberty style today decorate many downtown areas of American cities as a testimony of a grand past, still at the same time, modern buildings stand side by side asking for the same attention.

(Click on each photo to see it larger)

Villa Scott by Pietro Fenoglio – Author Emanuela Meme Giudici – Wikimedia – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

During the last ten years of the 1800s, a beautiful, floral, flowing style that focused on nature’s elements took place. It was Art Nouveau created in Bruxelles by a group of painters, designers and architects who adopted this style for homes, furniture, lamps and even fashion. It soon spread to Paris during the “La Belle Époque” era and across the ocean. In Italy, it was called the Liberty style and in America, it was known as the Tiffany style.

Floral Chair Liberty Style

Art Déco followed soon after and stayed until 1930. It represented the freedom of the industrial age, an era of progress and prosperity. Art Déco used metals, glass and geometric designs in all aspects of life to express a new modernity.

Liberty style fits my character and my upbringing. As a lover of nature and Baroque architecture, I would have loved to live and be surrounded by Liberty-style designs. In Italy, Baroque motifs distinguish this style with curves and free-flowing elements from nature.

If I had to decorate a villa in the Liberty style, wood, marble, glass and wrought iron would not be missed. Mirrors with floral designs on gold frames, table lamps, large chandeliers and wallpaper with exaggerated nature designs would be all the attractions.

Furniture would have abundant curves; sofas and upholstered chairs would be made with rich colored velvets and sturdy leathers.

ShellChair — Shell Chair by Estudio Bola

The floors would alternate with fine herringbone warm-tone woods and decorated ceramics so that the beauty of each material would mark the passage from one room to another.

Herringbone Hardwood Floor

To remake a home in a Liberty style would be a nice achievement. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2025 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, color therapist, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a longtime blogger. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Ritzy and Spiffy | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

Vintage, what a passion! The flapper girl loved all that allowed her to be and feel free in her behavior.
Louise Brook, the diva of silent movies adopted the short hair cut à la garçon that every woman copied. The short bob emphasized the sensual curve of the neck, while the facial features under a cloche hat were enhanced with a well-studied maquillage. The flappers girl loved very red lips and nails, lunar skin, very long eyelashes, marked the eyes with a smoky black eye liner and completed the look with long pearls necklaces. She loved to wear short dresses above the knee, showing them off for the first time in the history of fashion. Designers Coco Chanel and Paul Poiret, in Paris called “Le Magnifique” liberated women from corsets or other body traps and put them in chic sexy gowns.

This past Halloween I was invited to a 1920’s party. The house was so beautifully staged in that period style that I felt prompted to write about how to reproduce the same style in today’s home.

In Europe, the 1920s’ style had a different name in each country. It was Liberty Style in Italy, Art Nouveau in England, Style Guimard in France named after designer Guimard, Modernism in Spain, Secession Style in Austria and Youth Style in Germany. Regardless of how it was named, Art Nouveau flourished between two World Wars and it was a celebration of youth style and liberation from fussiness and constrictions. Key words to describe 1920s’style were simplicity, functionality, efficiency and cleanliness of lines and forms. Colors choices of that time are so modern even for today’s living:
Black, White, Ivory and Gray for the neutral palette, Nile Green and Navy Blue for the cold palette, Canary Yellow and Mandarin Red for the warm palette.

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There was a certain flavor of world style design, traveling was popular, discovering treasures of different countries was exciting and decorating with traveling memories was fashionable.

Steamer trunks with travel labels in lieu of coffee tables, Oriental rugs for the living room and scenic prints on the walls, legendary beasts as accessories and floral art glass were all the rage, along with subjects of lavish birds, flowers, insects and femme fatale details. Abstract lines and shapes were used widely as a filling and mixed in with all subjects.

The new concept of open spaces was born with the Bungalow Style architecture, which essentially was the new style home for the middle class, small but functional and comfortable. To create a visual effect of larger spaces, rooms opened up into each other, kitchen into family room and into dining and to avoid a cluttered look most of the furniture was built-in, such as bookcases, breakfast nooks, sideboards, china cases and window seats. Furniture was made to last and with sturdy luxurious woods such as mahogany and cedar and was designed in simple lines and simple carved details.
(Photo Bungalow right found on: http://www.angelfire.com/retro2/lisa3/20shome.html)

As you see, the 1920 ‘s style fits so perfectly in today’s living. Keep it simple and clean. Built-ins will substitute many furniture pieces that generally stand on the floor, allowing you to free floor space. Keep all the shapes linear, but splurge on accessories and sexy lamps to create several light points to suit every mood. Emphasize colors. Combine rich hardwood floor with retro chic’s bold wall colors and contemporary forms to achieve a fresh cheerfulness and whimsy. Reproducing with paint a typical 1920’s wallpaper motif is an easier alternative to wallpaper that might not exist anymore. Complete the décor with ornamental glass work on doors and divider panels; some metal/chrome features like sinks on chrome legs, or fireplaces brass façades; mirrors, Murano glass chandeliers and graphic art.

The 1920’s style is very current and conducive with my living. I like stylish décor nobody has, I like to set moods with attractive period pieces and I like to surprise people visiting my home. How about you? Tell me what is your style, I can reproduce it ritzy and spiffy without taking away your comfortable life and any of your habits. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an interior designer well-known to bring originality to people’s homes. As an Italian born and true to her origins, her design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. She provides only the best workmanship and design solutions.
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