Origin, Material & Craft
25 articles
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Natural stone: why limestone does not tolerate acid
Natural stone is usually bought for its looks and regretted for its looks. Yet almost everything that happens in everyday use is decided by a single…
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Wood moves: why joints shift and boards crack
Wood is the only material in the living space that keeps moving after it has been worked. It takes up moisture from the air and releases it again,…
Fragrance without flame: how wax and diffusers work
A home fragrance without a flame and without electricity does not sound very technical. In fact there are two different physical processes behind…
Rug fibres: wool, jute and polypropylene compared
With a rug, the fibre determines almost everything: how it feels, how quickly it looks dirty, whether it feels cold in winter and how long it lasts.…
Acrylic and PLA: where plastic is the better material
Plastic has a poor reputation in interiors, and mostly rightly so: it is used because it is cheaper. But there are places where it is the better…
Metal in the living space: why brass tarnishes and stainless steel does not
Metal is the only material in the living space where almost everything you see is only a few micrometres thick. The core of a lamp base made of…
Upholstery fabrics: what rub counts and lightfastness tell you
An upholstery fabric is the only part of a piece of furniture that is touched every day. It decides how the piece feels, what it looks like after…
Glass in the living space: wall thickness, colour and what harms it
Glass is solidified melt. Sand, soda and lime become liquid at 1,300 to 1,600 °C, and during cooling there is no time for them to arrange…
Paper pulp: why a vessel made of paper holds water
Paper pulp, usually just called pulp in the trade, is waste paper that has been soaked, broken down into a mash, pressed into a mould and dried.…
Ceramics, earthenware, porcelain: the difference in everyday use
Ceramics is the umbrella term. Earthenware, stoneware and porcelain are subgroups of it – distinguished not by appearance but by firing temperature.…
