Creative Applications Décor accessories Tables, flower planters and lamps can all benefit from the exceptional finish of enamel. Colourful, bright and imaginative, for objects destined to make everyday life more attractive as they last a lifetime. Enamel is an obvious finish for domestic appliances, boilers, baths, industrial panels and so on. But its aesthetic and functional properties also make enamel an ideal finish for lighter, more flexible and – why not? – amusing objects, such as tables, flower planters and lamps. What’s more, we tend to forget that enamel was first used, many centuries ago, for great artistic applications. And even today many great artists apply their creativity to demonstrating the possibilities and potential of enamel and enamel claddings and dressings.
When we say tables, we are talking about the ones designed for use in both offices and bars, individual tables and meeting tables or desks. Whatever type of table it is applied to, enamel offers advantages that range from resistance and durability to good looks: the colours look and stay bright, regardless of whether you choose light-hearted or severe ones; they are easy to adapt to the colour scheme in the room and the rest of the furniture, whether classical or modern, made of wood or steel. And it also offers one advantage that no table made of any other material can: when a table is made of steel, you can use those colourful little magnets to hold your reminder notes in place. At the moment, most enamelled bar tables are made for cruise liners, as they are so resistant to the damp, salty sea air. The tops are usually decorated with serigraphy, as the material enables any image or colour to be reproduced: that is what also makes them so suitable both for the little bars in historical cities that attract so many tourists and for larger licensed premises. Wherever you put them, they inject that certain dose of liveliness, fun and if you like also irony that can improve the quality of our everyday lives.
We have already discussed the advantages of using vitreous enamel for street furniture. One more application – which once again combines this material’s great good looks with its functionalism – is that of cladding flower planters with enamel, ensuring that their bright colours will stand up to the corrosion of continuous watering and also of atmospheric agents when placed outdoors.
And while we are about looking at new and revived surfaces suitable for enamel, which is also a lesson in putting some beauty and zest back into the houses and buildings we inhabit every day, why not also take a look at lamps? Enamel is equally at home on flat old models with their lacy trimmings and on decisively modern design statements, which only stand to gain from this material’s sparklingly bright colours. And let’s not forget, again, that enamel is not just an industrial product: it has a venerable artistic heritage and such enormous potential for development that it is really a pity to miss out on it and fail to tell possible users how many chances they have to surround themselves
with new, original, elegant, quality objects that cater for their desires. Isn’t that also part of what it takes to live better lives? |
