Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Lucite Furniture

Anyone remember those 70's Lucite telephone stands with a shelf below holding the white and yellow pages?

Of course not. Maybe your grandmother had one. But I'm willing to bet that when you were 4 or 5 you sat on a couple phone books at her dinner table.


Lucite furniture debuted in the early 60's, enjoyed a short heyday, by the mid-70's the trend was over.

I confess, I was not a Lucite furniture fan, until....

2002 and Philippe Starck's iconic Louis Ghost Chair for Kartell. (...remember my boring posts on French Louis chairs?)
Louis Ghost Chair by Philippe Starck
Single piece injection molded polycarbonate
(a technical tidbit gratuitously dropped in for my engineer readers, I know I have one for sure.)

A revival ensues. Improvements in production and chemistry (it's polycarbonate now, Lucite is just one of many brand names) and crystal clear furniture is definitely back.

As Starck paid homage to a French classic, JinR of Beijing honors the quintessential round back arm chair, Quon, from China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

"There is no Chair"
a Quon Chair by JinR at jia moderne, Boston, above photo by me, below from jia modern. I would love a pair of these. Also available "clear".

Acrylic polycarbonate lends itself nicely to edgy, art deco inspired design.

Walnut and acrylic "Asta" cocktail table from Stark (no relation to Phillipe). 
I took this pic in Stark's Boston showroom.
For extra credit, a trivia question: what series did Asta act in? 
First one with correct answer wins nothing but the awe and admiration I will 
gratuitously heap on you right here on my blog.

From Atlanta Homes Magazine via Shelter, Julie Richard's beautiful blog. Julie is another Boston-area designer and blogger. Check out her blog and website.


And perfectly pleasing curves. I love a good curve.

Also from Stark (again no relation to Phillipe). I took this pic in Stark's Boston showroom.

Scalloped Lucite Cocktail table from the Paris Apartment. Delightful.

Moorish inspired "Akbar" table from White Webb's Clearly Classic line. At 16" square and 18" high, it would be the perfect little table to add sparkle to your next soiree.

"Akbar" table, Clearly Classic line by White Webb 

What do you think? Love it? Leave it? OTF (on the fence)?

How about a table, chair or maybe a lamp for your home office?

Thanks for reading.
Linda Pakravan

if you'd love to have a home you love coming home to, contact me!

This post was not sponsored by any of the products or companies mentioned.

3 comments:

  1. Asta was in Nick and Nora!! I think!

    ReplyDelete
  2. And who cares about the Philippe Starck for Kartell anymore? I want the scalloped edge table!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am surprised to say that I do love these acrylic pieces, esp. the red chairs and the Asta table.

    ReplyDelete

Please do. I love to know what you think!