Japanese studio Nendo has designed an 18-piece metal furniture collection to mimic the bleeding effect of watercolour paint on paper surfaces.
Comprised of chairs, low tables and high console tables, each piece in the Watercolour collection is designed to look as though it has been cut and folded by hand.

Each furniture piece features various blue, gradiated markings, designed to appear as if they have soaked naturally into the furniture, in the same manner as watercolour permeates paper.
To create the furniture steel frames and surfaces are repeatedly and thoroughly sanded, applied with primer and finished with matte white paint to mimic the appearance of paper.

Painted by hand, the bleeding effect is achieved by gently dabbing a mix of two tones of aqueous inks onto the objects with soft pulp paper. Through a process of trial and error, each colour bleed was created to specifically suit the object it is painted on, in accordance to its shape and different elements.

"This production process allowed us the opportunity to play with animated colour effects: colour blends where there are meeting points, and stains and colour run down in a waterfall effect on overlapping parts of multi-layered objects," said Nendo.
The objects are then finished with a protective, clear matte layer that, according to the studio, further accentuates their flat, paper-like appearance.

Some designs see sheets of steel folded in half to create chairs and seats and, while others see mu...