From Janine:
I thought plastic was verboten
It is true that we do feel conflicted about plastic, lucite, plexi-glass....whatever you want to call it. We have used it as a material very happily. We don't go for lucite furniture, but sometimes admire it. We remember when MoMA's collection of 20th century objects began to "melt" (it was all plastic). We would view it more as a decorative accessory used in moderation. We want biodegradable lucite....
A friend owned a piece, and I wiping it down was not fun.
I think it's kinda cool in moderation. I just fear that like the mirrored furniture I've seen a lot in the last year, it will feel dated or boring in its ubiquitousness....like the practically-required eames piece in every design magazine layout.
It is true that there are trends in home design just like in fashion and things that were pleasing to the eye one year look completely unappealing a few years down the road. Thankfully, home trends move slower than fashion. I have to say- I love plastic. I love the shine of it, the strong pure colors you get, the pure kitschiness of it.
At least, I love it right now.
My rule of thumb? ABC = Anything But Clear
I'm just not a fan of any kind of clear furniture. Lucite scratches and is heat-sensitive; glass is loud if you're setting anything down on it. And BOTH require constant cleaning in order to look presentable and pristine. (My mother has a passion for glass-topped tables and so I cleaned A LOT of them in my youth.)
Other plastics are fine, but I prefer mine to be translucent or opaque. My first choice for tables is wood in a simple design.
Does anybody know of a plastic or something similar that's environmentally friendly?
lucite is awesome. it's inexpensive. it can be used in a variety of ways. and there are literally hundreds of products that can fix any scratch on any lucite surface. sure, it's trendy, but what isn't? it not like there's hundreds of new materials coming out all the time that are as accessible and cost efficient.
Buz--
Glass.
Hello Patrick.
I am a furniture designer. What I am really looking for is a furniture friendly material similar to plastic to work with that's at least a little bit environmentally responsible. There is a nice one called Durat (dotcom) which comes from Finland but something more local would be preferred.
Hey Buz, didn't mean to come off quite that obnoxious. Just never seemed like "plastics" and "environmentally responsible" could work in the same sentence. Also thought you were looking for the transparency of Lucite.
There used to be sort of a materials library here in NYC, perhaps in conjunction with Steelcase or Herman Miller? I'll have to see if I can track down some info.
I've also seen designers do some way cool stuff in furniture with Corian, believe it or not, but not sure where that ranks on the eco-scale.
Buz, maybe what the other patrick is thinking of is Material Connexion. it's membership based, and not that cheap, but has the most extensive collection of new and innovative material from every industry that i have ever heard of. seriously. it's cool.
Yes, I wish I could afford material connexion.
I have been researching this today and I think I have found something. Apparently, there are some new solid surfacing materials out that are made of recycled postconsumer plastic. A good example of that is one called Origins found at yemmhart.com. I found another interesting material called Richlite which is made of paper. They are both sending me samples
I hope out of these two I have found what I was looking for. The project is outdoor furniture.
Seema--
YES! That was what I was thinking of. You saved me a rummage through the files!! Interesting that it is a paid-access thing.
We love lucite. We build with it all the time.
We like mixing it with other materials like wood and metal, as well.
http://aaronrthomas.blogspot.com/