It's time to get a fresh perspex-tive

This spring we can expect to see an explosion of colourful perspex coming into our homes, as interior designers latch onto its versatile qualities for furniture and lighting, combining brilliant new shades of neontastic with a touch of Sixties nostalgia glam.

Alexandra von Fürstenberg, former daughter-in-law and ex-creative director of DVF, has brought out her own collection of fluoro gems, which she suggests can be used to serve food and cocktails just as easily as for storing pens and pencils. Her original idea was to design a few pieces for her own home but we’re delighted she has chosen to share.

The designers at the forward-thinking, no middle-man company made.com recently launched its Jelly chair in brilliant baby pink with a choice of other colours available.

“Being transparent means they can work across many styles,” says co-founder Chloe Macintosh.

And over at Habitat, the original swinging Sixties store making its comeback under new creative director Polly Dickens, the new Palaset acrylic home office storage in vibrant jewel red is bang on trend.

Given its translucent qualities, perspex also lends itself to lighting. Kartell’s FL/Y pendant, designed by Ferruccio Laviani in 2002, became an instant hit but is currently enjoying a renaissance in popularity. Meanwhile the Romeo pendant, made by German Koziol Werks Design, is out of stock at Selfridges until mid-March. According to John Lewis’s design manager Theo Williams: “Acrylic furniture and accessories give your interior an injection of colour without creating a barrier. Its transparent nature lends itself to smaller rooms and pieces often have a modernist feel reminiscent of the ground- breaking design of the 1960s.”