Glass microspheres come to life in flexible glass bead wall coverings
Flexible Glass Bead Wall coverings by Maya Romanoff
Maya Romanoff, based in Chicago, is the largest manufacturer of handcrafted wall coverings in the United States. The studio has worked with a wide variety of materials such as glass beads, gold and silver leaf, seashells, wood, hemp, paper and textiles, among others, to deliver innovative surfaces for more than 40 years.
These wall coverings are both highly tactile and visually stimulating, ripe for application on columns, ceilings, furniture, decorative objects, and of course walls. Using authentic glass beads or microspheres, in particular, Maya Romanoff has developed a few collections of reflective, refractive wall coverings. Depending on the size and mix of glass beads used, as well as the type of backing material, and any additives, there a few different types of Flexible Glass Bead Wall coverings–Beadazzled, Beadazzled Bauble, Beadazzled Geode, Beadazzled Leaf and Beadazzled Sparkle Geode.
Beadazzled Custom Mural by Maya Romanoff, Images courtesy Architonic
Beadazzled by Maya Romanoff, Images courtesy Architonic
The original Beadazzled wall covering material boasts of a uniform size of glass bead, placed on a veneer of Capiz shell (Windowpane oyster) material, which creates a glossy and iridescent Mother of Pearl effect.The Bedazzled Geode wall coverings on the other hand, are born from a dynamic technique using multi-sized beads for added sparkle and dimension. For the Beadazzled Bauble coverings, larger glass beads are used, nearly twice the size of regular spheres, magnifying the optical effect of the material. A customized mural service is also offered, where 2D prints of a client’s choice are layered with the glass beads and transformed into works of art.
Available by the roll or in tiled formats, the veneers and glass beads are attached to each other and a non-woven backing material and then to the wall using formaldehyde-free, water-based adhesives. This means that the wall coverings have zero or low VOC content, making them healthier for indoor environments. This, along with their immense sensory appeal and the optical illusions and visual interest they offer, makes these flexible, glass beaded wall coverings a timeless interior design solution, despite rapidly changing trends in the design world.
To learn more about the raw material–Glass microspheres–used for this application, explore the Goodfellow Materials Hub .
Cover Image courtesy–University of Texas at Austin, Materials Lab.
