Expert Tips for Incorporating Acrylic in Every Room

From Austin Powers’ groovy living room cocktail tables, or Helena Rubinstein’s pellucid Park Avenue bed, to a Z-chair in a sultry Sex and the City promo, acrylic furniture imparts a clear sense of cool—if not edgy—glamour.

Invented in 1928, acrylic is a transparent thermoplastic also known as poly methyl methacrylate and is derived from natural gas. In the United States, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company developed its own version in the 1930s, later trademarking it as Lucite. Acrylic found widespread use in World War II, specifically for airplane windshields and periscope lenses, due to its shatterproof quality and strength; it is 17 times more impact resistant than glass and half the weight.

After the war, designers started experimenting with acrylic as a new medium for furniture and home accessories. Charles Hollis Jones is cited as the “Godfather of Acrylic,” famously designing furniture and household objects for his own Los
Angeles–based firm, CHJ Designs, in the 1970s. Comparing acrylic to glass, he once said, “Lucite holds and carries light; glass reflects light.” He enjoyed manipulating the thermoplastic, creating a “lens,” due to its superior clarity to glass.

In 1939, when Art Deco was de rigueur, cosmetics queen Helena Rubinstein commissioned various Lucite furniture pieces designed by Ladislas Medgyes and created by Rohm and Haas Company. Her bedroom suite included an illuminated Lucite bed. In the 1960s and 1970s, Lucite was ubiquitous; with its strength and ability to be molded into all kinds of designs, everyone had something made of Lucite in their home, or wore it as a piece of jewelry, or carried it as a purse. Even the lid of Liberace’s famous crystal grand piano was made of acrylic.

History aside, Lucite has never gone out of style. Hans Kretschman is the owner of family-owned Plexi-Craft, a go-to of designers for over 60 years. Based in the Bronx, Plexi-Craft is the largest and oldest manufacturer of custom acrylic in the United States, and busier than ever. Says Kretschman, “Acrylic furniture has been growing fast nationwide in the last 10 years and it’s very hot now, especially in the New York area, Florida, Texas, and California.” What is driving the resurgence? “With its polished, glass-like appearance, acrylic delivers high-end glam without being fragile. It pairs perfectly with both modern and traditional decor, making it a designer favorite,” he says.

It’s definitely been a favorite of Vero Beach/Greenwich, Connecticut designer Sandra Morgan. “Lucite adds sparkle and a crisp, modern look,” she says. “It’s Classic Modern.” Morgan likes to use waterfall drink tables, coffee tables, and Philippe Starck’s iconic Louis Ghost Chair. Clients will sit in a quartet of them in her Vero Beach studio. “They disappear, are comfortable, and the knockoffs are pretty nice and reasonably priced,” she says. The Ghost Chair can also be had in several pastel colors; acrylic can be painted with acrylic paint.

Plexi-Craft’s Kretschman notes that acrylic is art friendly and collector approved. “It’s often used in museums and galleries because it doesn’t compete with the art—it enhances it. It’s UV resistant and won’t yellow, so it preserves the look of what it displays.”

Designer Morgan, who also has an Art Privé collection in her Greenwich studio, often uses Lucite pieces to serve the art. “A clear coffee table allows the eye to carry up onto the wall and focus on a painting,” she says.

If a designer can imagine it, Plexi-Craft can execute it in four to eight weeks, according to the owner. “Acrylic melts at 320 degrees [Fahrenheit], and can be cut, bent, and shaped into any design—from sleek consoles to sculptural pedestals. It’s a nonhazardous material that doesn’t ‘outgas,’” he explains.

Plexi-Craft has ensured that new generations discover Lucite from a very early age; its Sweet Dreams Crib with Canopy is the ultimate introduction to a clear vision of the future.