Sitting area with Art Deco ideals

Such interiors meant much more than curved arms on a chair, she tells us. It embodied a holistic design for the interior as a whole that integrated flooring, walls treatments, furnishing, lighting and more, where each element was in conversation with the other. “This idea of totalistic design was an attempt to say that we shouldn’t just design a building in isolation or furniture on its own but instead think about how to build the entire interior as a unified whole,” Dr McGowan adds. “What made Art Deco take off as a style in Bombay was the fact that so much of the city was being built anew as it expanded. 

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Dr Abigail McGowan

Like Lincoln House or the bungalows at Malabar Hill, these were second residences for princes or new residences for those making their fortunes in the city, which meant that these spaces weren’t weighed down by furniture from older generations. So they could embrace modern wholesale,” Dr McGowan shares. She continues that while we have a sense of how the architecture changed the city, it’s important to see how indoors through Art Deco ideals were also transformative, changing how space was used and experienced, be it a home, office, restaurant or movie theatre.

An ad in  the Journal of Indian Institute of Architects for Combinol Glass and Flat Oil Paint. Pics Courtesy/Dr Abigail Mcgowan

While the buildings have survived for us to see, it’s a different story for the interiors. Parts and pieces of indoor furnishings won’t offer the whole picture. Filling in the gaps are advertisements, newspaper clippings and people who have held onto furniture. So if you spot a piece of the past somewhere in a private or public indoor space, be sure to take a closer look.

On: January 7, 5 pm; tea at 4.30 pm 
At: Durbar Hall, The Asiatic Society of Mumbai Town Hall, Fort
Log on to: linktr.ee/artdecomumbai  to RSVP