Dans Papers - May 11, 2007

A room decorated with clear furniture has never appealed to me. Whether the pieces were made of glass or plastic, I've always deemed this to be the style of a drug lord during the 1970s disco-era. Until I saw Yves Klein's pure, pigment tables, that is. The Klein table installation consists of three simple, yet elegant tables built from Plexiglas, with glass tops and steel legs. One table is filled with Klein International Blue pigment, another filled with rose madder and one contains 3000 sheets of 22-karat gold leaf paper, each inviting the eye to penetrate what seems to be a limitless depth. The brilliant colors provide an almost hypnotic experience. Who knew plastic could be so beautiful?

Recently, clear furniture has made a comeback. Although it has been around since the 1950s, acrylic furniture is now more durable, easy to care for and captures light and colors better than glass. The latest transparent, acrylic-based furnishings look vintage, yet radiate a chic and stylish feel. They bounce light and lift the eyes, while appearing to float and create a sense of spaciousness, rather than crowding a room like bulky furniture. And of course, the lack of color allows these pieces to blend and harmonize in almost any style room. A clear table, for instance, takes up almost no visual space, but still serves as a surface for displaying flowers, photographs and other items. Likewise, a clear chair tucked under a wooden desk creates a sophisticated but visually modest workplace. It is so easy to marry these sleek furnishings with other vintage or modern pieces. Also, clear furniture's ability to diminish visual clutter sets a minimalist tone, while adding a retro touch and also giving an unobstructed view of carpets and floors.

Lucite furniture, in particular, has become very popular. It's not a fine crystal or even glass, but is a synthetic polymer known as the "high-society plastic." According to interior designers, an important part of decorating with this material is to mix it up. While a Lucite lamp might look classy on a glass table, the lamp works best when contrasted against a solid piece, such as a wood table or upholstered piece of furniture. When overdone, Lucite can give the drug dealer look I previously mentioned, but unless that's the look you're going for, use Lucite as an accent rather than the main attraction. For example, modernize an antique table in a see-through fashion by using acrylic chairs. Because these acrylic-based plastics can be molded into any shape, chairs replicating classic designs are being manufactured, evoking glamour in our homes and allowing homeowners to use ultra-modern and antique furniture in the same room.

The Louis Ghost armchair by Philipe Starck has been one of the most popular pieces of Lucite furniture to hit the market since it became available in 2002. The chair, a completely reinvented version of the cameo-backed Louis XVI chair, is available in a variety of transparent colors and promises to work with every decor. But clear, plastic furniture goes way beyond chairs. Nowadays, manufacturers are producing stools, magazine racks, shelves, sinks, candlesticks, sculptures, desks and many other pieces made from Lucite that can be used to render a traditional design with a modern material.

Lucite can be used in a smaller room to create an illusion of more space or in a larger room to highlight a beautiful area or grand piece of furniture. A few years ago, decorating with plastic would have been considered out of style, too space-age modern and un-hip. Today, using plastic in a home's decor is sexy and revealing, yet not overwhelming. Whichever size room, the furniture will absorb its surroundings and create a stunning, airy space. Lucite is a bold design choice, but for me, plastic's appeal is now crystal clear. No pun intended.