My parents recently returned from a monthlong trip to Asia and brought back with them this lovely lacquered cabinet. It was spashy red, functional, and perfect for their new “Asian room.” So naturally, I was tempted to explore this idea a little further.
Lacquered anything in a room space is highly glamorous. It makes a space look clean, fresh, and vibrant. This idea originated in Eastern Asia and was brought to the states by a few interior decorators who knew of this tradition of using resin tinted with cinnabar or charcoal to coat furniture. This was sort of a trendy thing initially, but has surfaced and resurfaced decades later and has continued to inspire.
As lacquered anything exudes perfection and pristine surfaces, I would keep some weathered textures nearby to keep a counterbalance. I believe age and embracing texture is important, so keep these on hand, but do embrace lacquer. It is a wondeful concept that has continued to inspire us in the west for decades.
“Modernity is the transient, the fleeting, the contingent; it is one half of art, the other being the eternal and the immovable.”
–Charles Baudelaire
Courtesy of Painted Furniture, A Touche of Luxe, Elle Decor