May 2009 • Materials
Spray ‘n’ Wash
By coating its designs in liquid polyurethane, the Belgian company SixInch readies them for the outdoors.
By Mason Currey
It sounds like a stunt: rather than wrapping its furniture in fabric or leather upholstery, the Belgian design firm SixInch sprays most of its sofas, chairs, and benches with multiple coats of polyurethane, creating boldly colored pieces that look like they’ve been dipped in vats of paint. But Pieter Jamart, who cofounded SixInch in 2003 and designs most of its furniture, insists the unorthodox coating has several advantages over traditional upholstery. “There are no stitches, it’s waterproof, it’s very flexible,” he says. “You can wash it, you can use it outside. And you can choose any color you want.”
Jamart hit on the idea about seven years ago while studying interior and furniture design in Mechelen, Belgium. A friend who worked for a chemical company helped him connect with material suppliers, and soon Jamart was receiving barrels of liquid polyurethane to experiment with. It took years of tinkering, but SixInch now employs two formulations of its supple coating: Soft Flex, which is only suitable for indoor use, and the newer Flex Plus, which is durable enough to withstand the elements.
For its furniture line, on view this month at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, SixInch sculpts some forms entirely from high-density foam before covering them in polyurethane. (Other pieces, such as the Louis chair shown at right, combine a wooden frame with foam padding.) The all-foam method is particularly well suited to the firm’s custom work. “It’s a great thing for architects because they can just draw some shapes, choose a color, and then it’s finished,” Jamart says. “There’s no structure, there’s no wood, no nothing.”
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DISTRIBUTOR
SixInch
www.sixinch.com
U.S. DEALERS
ePositive Space, Dallas
www.positivespacestore.com
Jungle Design, Brooklyn
www.jungledesignnyc.com
PROPERTIES
The soft, flexible coating is durable and waterproof and can be specified in virtually any color.
APPLICATIONS
Seating, outdoor furniture, and signage
COMPOSITION
High-density foam sprayed with layers of polyurethane coating
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