Movie Interior Design Inspiration: The Great Gatsby

People either loved Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” or they really unloved it. But mix one part Art Deco interior design with three parts opulence and big bucks, and well – what’s not to love? Here are some favorite interiors and visuals from the movie – ripe with inspiration for this designer.

Take a look at this swanky living room:  That glitzy chandelier says “M.O.N.E.Y” while the shape says F.R.E.N.C.H. Love the side board with inlaid checkerboard front. Mmm. And that custom round rug – are you picking up just a fume of Art Nouveaux? Good, you should. Deco’s sharp angles and reductionist lines sprang in direct reaction and opposition to the sweeps and swirls of its predecessor Nouveaux. Oh, and please wrap up those wingback chairs with their muted, almost checkerboard-like fabric, I’ll take the pair.

And this little photo. Ok, not an interior. But it’s so frothy and whippy – poor Daisy looks like a little bird in a cage…an expensive cage. From her cloche hat, to her sheer dress’s dropped waist and handkerchief bottom – you just want to blow on her and watch her float upward. Or into that superb yellow vehicle.  I’m suddenly in the mood to design diaphanous sheer drapery panels for a ladies’ dressing room.

On to the bedroom of Jay Gatsby himself. Uh! I’m sucker for an upholstered wall. Almost got to do one in Philadelphia a few years ago, but my client’s husband realized they actually had to pay me for my services – and well –  that ended that. But I digress. The two-story library theme done here as an exposed dressing room – marvelous. A lesson in repetition: How many rounded corners can you count in this design? The spiral staircase, the edges of the black lacquer furnishings, the rounded mahogany stained columns, the backs of the chairs (too many chairs!), the arcs in the rug. Now how many diamond patterns do you spy? The almost column-like diamond patterned upholstered walls, the diamonds in the rug – all of that repetition gives this room great balance and harmony. A great room, for a great guy…named Gatsby.

What’s your favorite design element in these interiors if money were no object??

Award winning and in-demand Princeton interior designer and former QVC show host Donna Hoffman is a nationally featured design expert in print and TV including vehicles like Family Circle, Real Simple, Country Accents, CNBC.com and ABC. She heads up the Bucks County interior design group specializing in classic interiors that have 10+ years of staying power. For residential clients, marrying smart design to your individual design fingerprint — your “Interiority” — leads to the rooms clients love to live in, look at — and never want to leave. For commercial clients, well developed design skill combined with branding and marketing expertise results in business environments that enhance your client experience, perception and experience.