Laser-Cut Focus: The Future of Design Is Here

Discover how this laser technology can make almost any pattern a reality

Jess McBride July 24, 2016

Houzz Contributor. Custom decorating professional and content creator for the home design industry with a lifelong passion for color, pattern, and texture of every "stripe"

Houzz Contributor. Custom decorating professional and content creator for the home... More

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I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I never knew how fascinating science could be until my late 20s when I learned about laser cutting. All those years I was snoozing in science class, the pyromaniacs who stayed awake for the lesson on refracting light learned that holding a magnifying glass perpendicular to the sun’s rays and focusing it on a leaf will cause that leaf to burst into flames.

Fast forward a decade, and I awoke to this principle as it applies to the world of custom decor: Using an apparatus like a CNC machine, fabricators are able to literally melt or vaporize materials such as stainless steel and aluminum by channeling compressed gas and a focused laser beam into a plotted pattern to create a totally custom design for everything from fences to shower curtains. Here’s a look into the range of possibilities with computer-aided laser-cutting tech.

Wolveridge Architects

1. Stylish sunscreen. Wolveridge Architects, based in Australia, commissioned a unique screen to serve as a partition between indoor and outdoor spaces. Presumably made of anodized metal (usually an aluminum alloy whose oxide layer has been chemically thickened for weatherproofing and added resiliency), this geometric screen casts shadows that give the effect of elaborate floor tiles.

Moussafir Architectes

2. Whimsical windows. Laser-cut stainless steel makes a formidable outdoor window treatment, especially on a contemporary home built with vast window walls. Screens like these filter in light but preserve privacy because, first of all, the peeping eyes of passersby naturally stop on the intricate design instead of trying to focus on what’s inside, and second, they’re obviously not as easy to see through as uncovered windows.

Laws Laser

3. A whale of a show. The Aussies are at it again, adding a dash of the marine life with a whale motif cut into metal screens at this modern beach home.

Entanglements

4. Perfect for pergolas. Some good news for newbie gardeners who have grand dreams of a lush-leafed pergola: You don’t have to have a green thumb to enjoy a foliage-covered canopy shading your seedlings. This patio topper looks enchanting on its own, but all those little cutouts will give vines an excellent foothold if you do choose to layer in some climbers.

MR.MITCHELL

5. Wallpaper alternative. This screen isn’t necessarily screening anything at all. It’s not filtering light, providing privacy or scaffolding climbing plants on their upbound trek. What it does achieve is a stunning, tactile wallpaper and a designerly backdrop to tropical plants that might not have otherwise had the height to make much of a statement.

Eclectic Landscape Global Garden, San Carlos

6. Garden glow. There’s something about illuminated laser-cut screens that set a magical mood in a garden or on a patio. It’s a great way to add pattern and texture to your outdoor living room while also serving to dress up that dead space under the deck lest it become a junkyard of outgrown playground equipment and watercraft we use once a year on vacation.

Here’s what the designer has to say about the design: “A dramatic screening solution was designed using Parasoleil panels. We installed these metal panels with an outdoor fabric backdrop to add contrast. These panels are backlit in the evenings for dazzling drama at night.” And dazzling it is.

Andrew Snow Photography

7. Hot house numbers. Screens are by no means the only design features worth laser cutting. Carved house numbers are an excellent candidate, mostly because your house number is unlikely to ever change, making a custom door or number plaque a sound investment.

Here, the slightly rusted metal looks so right against the brick backdrop. It’s an especially appropriate choice for townhomes or row houses built at the height of the Industrial Revolution, when materials like steel and brick became an increasing part of the American landscape.

Pheasant Hill Homes Ltd.

8. Personalized gates. The mermaid embellishments on this gate were cut with a laser cutter by a savvy local shop. They are outdoor-friendly stainless steel, but I can’t stop thinking about how equally cool this design would look in copper after it oxidizes into that signature mint-green patina.

John Prindle

9. Staircase stunners. Using maple hardwood, designer John Prindle designed a knockout staircase that is as interesting as the pattern cut into it. If you thought it was just a matrix of random punches for purely visual effect, you’d be wrong; it’s actually each residing family member’s name cut into Morse code.

Bruce Fox

10. Precision steps. People are doing so many interesting things with their stair railings and risers these days, we could probably devote an entire article to each stair component. The precision that can be achieved with laser cutting means that it is possible to have a metal or wood sheet punched into the most exacting specs, like those that govern stair construction.

Entanglements

11. Rusty radiance. This laser-cut candleholder (and decorative screens beyond it) demonstrates the possibilities for a feature wall that merges lighting, decoration and a connection with the natural processes that mutate our man-made materials into a new sensory iteration via a crisp layer of rust. Rust is created when water’s oxygen molecules break down metal’s atomic structure. It gets a bad rap, but much like watching a seedling grow into a tree, witnessing the inverse process of slow decay reminds us of nature’s sovereignty.

Sam Crawford Architects

12. Tile alternative. Australian firm Sam Crawford Architects had this piece of custom joinery laser cut into wood below the structural beam. The design drew its inspiration from a collection of hand-painted Scandinavian tiles the homeowners had fallen in love with. For additional views, click on the image and browse photos of this lovely example of Scandinavian style.

Dunlap Design Group, LLC

13. And fabrics too. Laser cutting has been a boon to the fashion industry, which can now cut both delicate laces and tough leathers without risking any damage to the fabric. Laser cutting allows the cut edges to be sealed instantly to reduce or eliminate fraying, and the fabric isn’t touched by anything but the laser during the entire process. This shower curtain shows how well this process works on a hardy material like vinyl, but it is just as appropriate for linen or lace.

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