Lacquer

Slick lacquer furnishings are simply luxurious and glossy furnishings are energizing home decor in all sorts of stylish ways:

For something a bit more modern, these chocolate brown nesting tables are made of resin, which is a form of plastic that coats the wood, giving it this high-gloss sheen.

Lacquered furnishings have traditionally been brown and black, and while those shades are still popular today, bold color is the trend in lacquer right now.

• Lacquer is a 4000-year-old Chinese technique where several coats of the sap from the lacquer tree are applied to wood for a high-gloss shine. While the Chinese perfected the process ages ago, the term "lacquered" has come to mean anything that has a very glossy finish. You can get the look the old-fashioned way from tree sap or from high-gloss paints or new-age plastics.

• Lacquering never goes out of style because it adds that bit of shine to a room. Next to all the matte surfaces and fabrics in a space, the lacquered pieces really come alive.
  

lacquer stash boxes (blue and brown), lacquer picture frames (red) (Jonathan Adler)
lacquer vase (USONA)
Boaat lacquer kitchen containers by Philippe Starck (Unica Home)
lacquer Asian-style tray (Open House)