1920s Art Deco Elegance & Vintage Furniture Restoration

Why 2025 is the Year of Art Deco Revival

Did you know Pinterest has just released a 2025 fall trends report?

If so, you might have noticed 1920s Art-Deco-inspired interior design near the top of the list! 

Wondering how to incorporate antique 1920s furniture and Art Deco design into your home? 

Mumford Restoration can help! After all, we are Raleigh’s trusted antique furniture restoration experts! 

We proudly serve clients across Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and all of North Carolina.

We even have regular clients from South Carolina and Virginia!

They know that we can help transform a diamond in the rough into a crown jewel. 

Above: an example of an Art Deco interior design by Pierre Chareau for the 1925 Paris Expo.

A Brief History of Art Deco

The term “Art Deco” came into use in the 1960s to describe the bold, geometric, brightly colored designs that began to proliferate after WWI. 

During Art Deco’s heyday, this style was generally just called “modern.” 

Deco exploded in popularity after Paris’s 1925 International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes). 

As mid-century designers and historians examined Art Deco, they looked at this exposition as a defining point for the style and based the term “Art Deco” on the event’s title. 

Deco remained popular until WWII, although it did not truly begin to decline until after the war. 

As Art Deco declined, International style became more prevalent and later evolved into what we know as mid-century modern. 

Above: a 1920s-1930s Art Deco mohair sofa that Mumford Restoration restored and reupholstered.

The Allure of Art Deco Furniture and 1920s Design

 How do you know a piece might be Art Deco?

There are a few common design elements:

• Stylized, geometric designs, often featuring chevrons or zig zags
• Vertical emphasis: shapes are elongated and often emphasize height
• Sunburst patterns
• Chrome and Stainless Steel
• Vivid Colors
• Nods to Asian, Egyptian, and even Mayan design influences
• Rich fabrics in striking colors
• Warm-toned, luxurious veneers such as burled walnut.

Deco is certainly one of the most classic styles of the early 20th century, but  it isn't the only one.

Don’t count out other 1920s furniture styles!

These designs complemented each other, and in the case of Streamline Moderne and Deco, they often borrowed from each other. 

• Streamline Moderne featured rounded edges and beautiful curvilinear elements that suggested sweeping movement. 
• Arts and Crafts began in the 1880s but was still popular in the 1920s. It celebrated warm natural wood, earth tones, and less ornamental, minimal design.

Above: Emile Jacques Ruhlman's Grand Salon design, shown at the Paris Expo of 1925. Note the emphasis on long, lean lines and impactful geometric designs.

Art Deco Furniture Restoration: Bringing 1920s Glamour Back

The great thing about Art Deco furniture is that it was popular during an era when industrial-scale furniture manufacturing was in full swing. 

That means you can find antique Art Deco furniture at any price point!

Check out auction houses if you want luxurious, highly stylized Art Deco furniture from the 1920s’ and 1930s’ most influential furniture designers. 

The most collectable pieces are from European-based designers, but there are a few American-based design studios in the mix! 

Keep an eye out for these iconic 1920s names:

• Epstein Brothers (London)
• Hille (London)

• Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (Paris)

• Jules Leleu (Paris)
• Jacques Adnet (Paris)
• Jean Dunand (Paris)

• Paul T. Frankl (New York)

• Eileen Gray (Paris)

If you would be just as happy with modestly priced Art Deco furniture, check out antique malls, estate sales, thrift stores, and Facebook Marketplace. 

Is your Art Deco discovery a bit shabby and faded?

Mumford Restoration’s furniture refinishers can make it as luxurious as ever. 

As North Carolina’s top antique furniture restorers, you can trust us to accurately tell you the age, style, and construction of your furniture and recommend historically appropriate repairs and finishes. 

Above: A pair of art deco chairs that Mumford Restoration completely rebuilt, refinished, and reupholstered.

How We Restore 1920s Art Deco Furniture:

Veneer Repair, Lacquer Refinishing & Upholstery

Your 1920s-1930s Art Deco piece is most likely lacquered and the finish is probably a bit worn after 100 years.

Learn more about your lacquered antique furniture and how we will refinish it in our blog article on modern furniture finishes. 

Antique Veneer Repair & Replacement

Find a gorgeous Art Deco table that's missing some veneer?

Mumford Restoration’s artisans regularly repair and replace antique veneer and seamlessly blend the new veneer. 

Regluing Loose Art Deco Chairs & Dining Sets

Is that gorgeous 1920s dining chair set a bit floppy? 

Our antique furniture restoration specialists can fully disassemble the chairs, clean their joints, and reassemble them with fresh glue. 

Your antique chairs can be strong, sturdy, and ready for another century of dinners!

Broken Leg & Wood Element Repair

Broken leg ruining an otherwise perfect 1920s chair or table? 

Yep, you guessed it: we repair broken wooden elements (legs, arms, stretchers, chair backs, etc). 

Our master carpenter can even create completely new pieces if the originals are missing or just too damaged to repair.

Converting Antique Beds to Modern Sizes

Find a beautiful Art Deco bedroom set, but need something bigger than a full-sized bed? 

Mumford Restoration has converted many full-sized antique beds into more popular modern sizes, while still keeping the gorgeous original look.

Antique Sofa & Chair Restoration and Reupholstery

Buy a beautiful Art Deco sofa and chair set online only to find that it’s sagging like crazy? 

We can have you sitting pretty before you know it! 

Our blog will teach you about antique chair and sofa foundation issues and how we can fix them. 

We can help you choose the best upholstery for your sofa or chair, and our upholsterers will return these great pieces to their dashing Deco roots.

Above, 1st picture: Ruhlmann's "Sunbed." Note the sunburst pattern, a common Art Deco design motif.

Above, 2nd picture: An antique Art Deco sofa that Mumford Restoration customized and reupholstered.

Why Antique Furniture Restoration Beats Fast Furniture

Our favorite thing about antique furniture is its durability.

Even mass-produced, modest furniture from the early- tomid-1900s tends to be built to last.

Antique and most vintage furniture uses solid wood, has well-engineered joinery, and features carvings and ornamental details that modern furniture just doesn’t bother with. 

Meanwhile, your flat-packed furniture has no stylistic details or actual design elements, is made from cheap, flimsy MDF, breaks easily, swells and degrades if it gets wet, and is held together by staples and cheap screws. 

Modern furniture is practically built to break and be disposed of.

And MDF furniture isn’t even all that cheap anymore.

Where is the advantage?????

When you buy antique furniture, you are buying beautiful, well made pieces that you will probably NEVER have to replace. You are preserving an important part of design history and investing in sustainability. 

After all, the most sustainable furniture is the furniture that has already been built. 

Your antique furniture isn’t contributing to deforestation, it hasn’t had a carbon footprint since 1925, and it reduces the demand for new furniture (further reducing your carbon footprint). 

What’s not to love about combining impeccable style and sustainable living?

Above: Art Deco often features ziggurat pattens, as you can see in this pair of chairs that came to our workshop!

Mixing Vintage Art Deco with Modern Interior Design

Art Deco furniture’s clean lines and elegant ornamentation ensure that it makes a statement while still blending into nearly any room.. 

Want to decorate your home entirely in 1920s-1930s Art Deco furniture and decor? It will look stunning and classic. 

Want to incorporate antique Art Deco furniture into your modern or eclectic interior design style? No problem. 

Art Deco’s minimalist design and sleek silhouette will fit in with your tailored mid-century modern pieces.

Its emphasis on bold colors, clean lines, and luxurious wood veneers will blend beautifully with designs inspired by Asian and African art.

Art Deco pieces with more curvilinear elements will look especially nice with your Art Nouveau and bohemian decor.

Are you a vintage maximalist? Why not throw in some luxe velvet Art Deco side chairs (or even a velvet couch) to add some drama to your living room?

Get a true antique statement piece for your home.

After you reupholster and refinish it, your piece will be a truly unique showstopper.

Photos above: an enamel-top Art Deco kitchen table that Mumford Restoration refinished and re-enameled. 

Making Art Deco a Lasting Part of Your Home

Art Deco furniture of the 1920s might be trending right now, but it was always a classic, fashionable interior design style. 

You can rest assured that your Art Deco home will never look stodgy or outdated.

Its sleek lines, thoughtful ornamentation, and luxurious fabrics ensure that it will always remain a sophisticated style. 

A week from now or 40 years from now, your Art Deco furniture will still be chic and eye-catching as ever! 

Mumford Restoration: Raleigh's Antique Restoration Experts

If you're in love with a wounded or shabby piece of antique 1920s furniture, Mumford Restoration can turn a flawed piece into a Deco darling.  

We can do as much as you need to get your antique furniture back to its old self! 

• Veneer repairs or replacements
• Full reglues
• Broken wood repair and touchup
• Glass replacement
• Full refinishes
• Full upholstery services (foundation repairs, reupholstery, etc)
• Replication of missing elements
• Addition of a completely new element for true customization

Looking for Art Deco furniture restoration in North Carolina?

Contact Mumford Restoration today! 

We have been Raleigh’s most respected antique furniture restoration specialists for decades.

That kind of staying-power is thanks to our beautiful workmanship and first-class customer service. 

You can trust us to expertly restore your Art Deco or vintage furniture and bring timeless elegance into your home.

Call us at (919) 510-6310 to speak to a restoration specialist. 

Or you can submit photos via our online form and we’ll reach out to you soon!