Maria and Ekaterina’s concept was successively developed into a series of designs exhibited in 2007 under the name ‘Wire Geometrics’ at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. The technology has been refined ever since and made into an easy-to-install product that is reinvented each year with new designs and features.

Maria and Ekaterina have defined new possibilities for interior designers with the launch of Meystyle by bringing together two worlds that were traditionally separate – wall decoration and interior lighting.

Meystyle’s LED wallpaper is produced from a variety of different substrates, from vinyl with a luxury matt finish to natural silk fibres on non-woven backing. The company is constantly improving the choice of materials it can print on, as Ekaterina explains: “For example, for our latest collection – Conductivity – we have introduced a range of natural linens and linen canvases that bring a whole new touch of sophistication to our designs.”

Every single roll of wallpaper Maria and Ekaterina design is produced in the company’s London-based studio.

“We print digitally using the latest digital printing technologies and use the most eco-friendly inks available on the market,” comments Maria. “The LEDs are fitted by hand, one by one, as are all other finishes we offer – such as gilding, hand-painting and the addition of Swarovski crystals.

“We normally work with cotton, silk and a variety of upholstery velvets. But, we are happy to consider new materials when a project requires it. For example, recently we have been working with leather for the interior of a luxury private airplane.”

Inspiration

Meystyle’s inspiration came to Maria during her master’s degree in Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins. She was unsure whether to focus on a wallcovering or an interior lighting project and decided to combine the two, resulting in her idea of LED wallpaper.

Maria and Ekaterina’s design inspirations are diverse, as Ekaterina explains: “Nature in all its unpredictable forms is probably our main visual reference, but we often integrate it with literary, historic and artistic influences. The writings of Aleister Crowley are behind the mesmerising patterns of the Abyss collection, whereas the Nina collection takes much of its signature shapes and colours from old embroideries made by our grandmother, and the designs in the Poems collection reflect on Japanese haiku poetry.

“On a more general level, we like to break the bidimensional surface of the walls by creating the illusion of dimension and we like to play with the synthesis of opposites, such as randomness/order and repetition/variation.”

Meystyle currently has 10 collections for a total of more than 200 designs. “Each year we come up with a different concept and rework it up until few days before the deadline for the official launch,” enthuses Maria. “Sometimes a collection starts with a well-defined series of shapes and colours to work with and finishes with an entirely new set of designs that we could not have predicted in the beginning.”

Technology

Maria and Ekaterina have researched into the company’s technology for many years and developed a special technique that gives them the possibility to create any light pattern they wish, while maintaining the substrate completely flat and flexible, enabling it can be hung like regular wallpaper. The LEDs Maria and Ekaterina use are very small and some designs also include micro LEDs, which are practically invisible when switched off.

The LED wallpaper is supplied with a wire that can be fixed at the top or bottom edge of the roll without adding any thickness to it. The wire can then be connected to an electrical socket or a light switch using the power supply or LED drive that is provided – one power source is enough to light up an entire wall. Maria and Ekaterina have developed a specific technology to seamlessly connect each roll of LED wallpaper reducing the wiring to a minimum.

Collections

“Our first official collection was Fragmented,” explains Maria. “The designs consist of layers of stylised plants and flowers combined with soft stripes and bright colours. From the very start, we wanted to make a bold statement by bringing walls unabashedly to the foreground.

“One of our latest collections, The Lattice Systems collection, came from our fascination with modernist architecture and natural geometric structures. We started by exploring the possibilities offered by hexagonal shapes and then developed more complex shapes and patterns using repetition and randomisation.”

An example of one of Meystyle’s recent projects is a residential villa in Astana, Kazakhstan, as Maria explains: “We were asked to create a feature display to complement the minimal style of the decor, consisting of clean lines and neutral colours. We proposed the Nordic Waterfall from our Lattice Systems collection, as we felt that its combination of organic and architectural shapes would offer a perfect counterpoint to the style of the furniture while adding visual excitement to the room.

“The Nordic Waterfall is one of our most majestic standalone pieces. Its strength originates from the unpredictable synthesis of rational human thinking with the sublime force of nature.

“In another project – our King’s Road project – we were contacted by Juliettes Interiors to create something special for their Chelsea showroom. To complement the opulence and sophistication of their environment, we produced a new colourway of our Night Qualia design from the Abyss collection. We also completed the Magick Gateway design for a separate room with a softer colour palette. Both designs feature Swarovski crystals and LEDs for extra ‘oomph’.”

Across the pond in Paris, a designer working on a ‘Trocadero project’ contacted Meystyle after visiting the company’s stand at Maison & Objet. “She was working on a big dining room with dark wooden panels running on all four walls and making the space feel a bit oppressive,” says Ekaterina. “We agreed to use the Paris Dawn design to produce a series of custom-size prints that would fit inside the given wooden frames.

“The light colours of this design really helped to lighten up the walls and make the whole space feel brighter and livelier. The style of the ornaments on our wallpaper perfectly match the furniture and add a contemporary vibe to the traditional setting.”