The development of rubber leaves products for decoration interior design

Abstract

  The purposes of this research were to (1) study the properties of rubber leaves which are suitable for the development of products and (2) develop products from rubber leaves focusing on the use in interior decoration. This study explored 2 methods of processing the rubber leaves: (1) spinning the rubber leaves and (2) boiling in water with caustic soda. The color of the processed rubber leaves was changed in 2 ways: (1) scrapping off the tissue and soaking in water mixed with bleaching agent and (2) scrapping off the tissue, soaking in water mixed with bleaching agent and dying. Then, the processed rubber leaves were made into 3 types of material: spreading into sheet, overlapping with others, and overlapping the dyed leaves into the desired shapes. All three types were mixed with adhesive glue to make sheets. There were 3 types of material forming experiments: rubber sheet stacked with colored rubber leaf sheet, rubber leaf sheet overlapped with bamboo lines of 8mm width, and rubber leaf sheet covered with mulberry paper. Lighting system was installed into the product in order to increase the variety of the patterns.

The results showed that 1) rubber leaves have tough, durable, and flexible fibers and 2) the materials obtained from the rubber leaves were developed into a partition wall, presenting the natural beauty of the rubber leaves in terms of shape, outline and texture. The processed rubber leaves were mixed with other materials in order to highlight the outstanding properties of the rubber leaves and make difference to the ordinary products. The designed products had functional benefits. They were easy to produce, repair and adjust into forms.