Lyon Béton’s concrete furniture
We are an editor specialized in the design and manufacture of
concrete furniture and objects.
Our vision of concrete furniture and our responsibility as editor/designer
We push back the limits of concrete to offer durable and responsible furniture and decorative objects. Although some of our concrete furniture can be used outdoors, we like the idea of bringing concrete into the home.
Our concrete furniture can be assumed and passed on.
We are convinced of the beauty of concrete and are passionate about its plasticity. Thanks to our technical mastery of the moulding of this singular material that is concrete, we offer an exciting space of freedom for designers. As a new iteration of the one created by the arrival of plastic injection in the 50s.
The moulding technique allows the creation of concrete furniture with shapes that are very difficult or very expensive to obtain with other materials such as wood or stone and this without wasting material.
The history of our concrete furniture
Seven years ago, a large furniture retailer contacted us to design a concrete furniture collection. At that time, everyone thought it was cool but no one had managed to make concrete furniture that could be marketed on a large scale. So we started designing a 100% concrete collection.
Why the Lyon Béton brand?
We took up the challenge, but in the end our distributor didn’t want to take the risk of marketing concrete furniture. Probably too disruptive at the time. So we ended up with a complete collection of concrete furniture on our hands. That’s when the Lyon Béton brand was born, and we created a website to sell our first collection of concrete furniture.
How to make concrete furniture?
To make concrete furniture, you need:
- a bit of madness,
- water,
- sand,
- cement,
- skilled designers,
- a well-made mould,
- careful craftsmen.
But like any recipe, it’s up to you to adapt it 🙂
What makes our concrete furniture unique?
A perfect balance of ingredients
Of course we won’t tell you our secret recipe, but it’s what makes our concrete furniture so unique: strong and not so heavy.
A little “je ne sais quoi” on top of that…
In addition to The Basic Recipe, we add fibre. It allows the material to stand in a thinner layer, thus making the furniture lighter. Some of our concrete furniture is also reinforced with metal reinforcement to stiffen its structure.
A texture that is not flat and smooth
Although we aim to achieve a soft and warm to the touch, we try to keep the raw aspect of the concrete. It is this aspect that gives it all its character. It is these small visible bubbles that differentiate our furniture in real poured concrete from other furniture in imitation resin, or worse in imitation concrete paint.
Very fine sanding
When the concrete is dry, we move on to the finishing touches. We apply a very fine sanding that will give them a pleasant touch while preserving their character.
Protection of furniture
We apply a water and oil repellent solution in the workshop to protect the material from stains. This treatment does not last forever. To make it last it is advisable not to clean the surface with products containing acids or solvents.
If the protection eventually fades, we offer
products to maintain your concrete furniture.
Who designs our collections?
We design some of our furniture
ourselves and we also work with designers. Notably
Bertrand Jayr, Henri Lavallard Boget and
Alexandre Dubreuil without whom we would not be here today.