When the Boomhowers purchased their bungalow in North Park, they saw an art deco home looking for a little love. The home had obvious deco elements in the interior: a curved, suspended shelving built-in, trayed ceilings, and a unique porch roof-line that curved like a fifties restaurant. The goal was to highlight these elements and enhance other parts of the home to really sell the style.
Most homes in the neighborhood are small two bedroom, one bath bungalows that have a similar layout but distinctly different decorative elements. The other styles that exist are Pueblo Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Craftsman. The Boomhower home is an example of one of three types of Art Deco homes manufactured during that time : Pueblo Deco (geometric deco elements with a decidedly Pueblo-Native American Feel) Memphis (more angular art deco with Egyptian decorative elements) and Streamline Moderne (a more rounded style usually associated with 50’s diners and Floridian nightclubs). A subset of this style is Tropical Moderne. Particular to warm-climate, coastal design, this style seemed the best to emulate in the new scheme.
Researching colors, it was obvious that the original style was a peach, or peachy-pink stucco most likely with a green or teal trim. Removing plastic from around the windows and replacing venting confirmed this, so this was presented as a possible throw-back scheme along with a grey and plum “Empire State” style color combo and the Catalina Collection. The Boomhowers chose a more tropical palette driven by one of the best examples of Art Deco in Southern California: the murals of the Catalina Casino. Sea Greens, aquas, roses, soft apricots, mauve and plum were used in the exterior garden mural, front mural and trim.
I provided some ideas for a unique railing to coordinate with the homes curves and Matthew found a talented fabricator who produced a railing more indicative of the style than the old-fashioned existing s-curve type railing that still met with modern codes. I painted a Floridian style mural on the front of the house, and chose to add striping above the picture window to coordinate with the facia detail.
Finally, the neighbors cannot see the south side of their garage, so they gave the Boomhowers free reign to paint whatever they wish. For their backyard 7 x 13 foot mural, we added elements of the Catalina tile murals and the interior Casino scenes.
Neighbors are already commenting that they did not realize the house even WAS art deco until we started painting it. Matthew chose to accent the front vents with a bold coat of black. A little landscape should add to the tropical modern feel and the transformation will be complete.
Most homes in the neighborhood are small two bedroom, one bath bungalows that have a similar layout but distinctly different decorative elements. The other styles that exist are Pueblo Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Craftsman. The Boomhower home is an example of one of three types of Art Deco homes manufactured during that time : Pueblo Deco (geometric deco elements with a decidedly Pueblo-Native American Feel) Memphis (more angular art deco with Egyptian decorative elements) and Streamline Moderne (a more rounded style usually associated with 50’s diners and Floridian nightclubs). A subset of this style is Tropical Moderne. Particular to warm-climate, coastal design, this style seemed the best to emulate in the new scheme.
Researching colors, it was obvious that the original style was a peach, or peachy-pink stucco most likely with a green or teal trim. Removing plastic from around the windows and replacing venting confirmed this, so this was presented as a possible throw-back scheme along with a grey and plum “Empire State” style color combo and the Catalina Collection. The Boomhowers chose a more tropical palette driven by one of the best examples of Art Deco in Southern California: the murals of the Catalina Casino. Sea Greens, aquas, roses, soft apricots, mauve and plum were used in the exterior garden mural, front mural and trim.
I provided some ideas for a unique railing to coordinate with the homes curves and Matthew found a talented fabricator who produced a railing more indicative of the style than the old-fashioned existing s-curve type railing that still met with modern codes. I painted a Floridian style mural on the front of the house, and chose to add striping above the picture window to coordinate with the facia detail.
Finally, the neighbors cannot see the south side of their garage, so they gave the Boomhowers free reign to paint whatever they wish. For their backyard 7 x 13 foot mural, we added elements of the Catalina tile murals and the interior Casino scenes.
Neighbors are already commenting that they did not realize the house even WAS art deco until we started painting it. Matthew chose to accent the front vents with a bold coat of black. A little landscape should add to the tropical modern feel and the transformation will be complete.
Other Examples of Exterior Art
