Technology and ingenuity has enabled people to turn solid materials such as stone and wood into light and malleable finishes, take a look at some of these examples:
Trend tile has come up with a new way to use their mosiac tiles, by creating a patterned tile block made to be applied to walls, resembling fine wallpaper, it takes the guess work out of creating a special design.
Check out this laminated glass from Living Glass, the only laminated glass that claims to be made from 100% recycled glass and resin, in these images above, the glass has a layer of Barkskin in the middle. Barkskin is a thin layer of bark that is pounded down and used to create some pretty interesting wallcoverings.
This is Bits Bench by Fulo:
the 'upholstery' of the furniture object is constructed of hundreds of small triangles cut from birch plywood.
the result is a faceted, geometric surface which looks tough and hardy from its exterior, but when sat upon, one feels the softness and comfort of the bench's interior. 'bits' includes a bolster that acts as a pillow allowing it to be used either as a lounge bench or that can be adjusted to accommodate one's seating mannerisms.
While we're playing with wood as upholstery:
this wooden carpet by Elisa Strozyk shows how a seeming brittle material such as wood can become completely malleable, Strozyk applies veneer offcuts to fabric to create carpets, fabrics and furniture.
