Co-opting the signature French flair for the superfluous consonant, the Italian company Lea Ceramiche has chosen the sonorous “Paillettes” to identify their latest innovation in ceramic wall covering. The word translates as “Sequins. Spangly dress. Soap flakes,” which is apropos, given the alluring, revelatory, and high-gloss sheen of the product. Lea Ceramiche–a company with 30 years experience in Italian ceramics–has staked their reputation on innovation, aesthetics, and technological progress.

Paillettes Collection. Designed by Lea Ceramiche.

Using the synergy of all three as a springboard to industry advancement, “Every attained result, every achieved novelty or innovation, is a new starting point to focus once again on the study of raw materials, mixes, glaze and colours.” If that’s the case, I can’t wait to see what the tech-savvy and unprecedented Paillettes leads to. Produced using a non-vitreous ceramic material, Paillettes eliminates many of the installation hassles associated with conventional ceramic tile, not the least of which is a “grout-less” adhesion. Paillettes tiles are made to overlap, or, in the words of Lea Ceramiche, “the undulated cutting of the tiles coincides perfectly to eliminate the joints.” The result is an unadulterated expanse of fanciful ceramics, ideal for the backsplash in a kitchen or bath, or an entire floor to ceiling accent wall.

Lea Ceramiche suggests Paillettes as a quick fix revamping for tired wallboard, and to this end, they provide a variety of styles (each in keeping with the “sequined” theme): “azzurro,” ‘bianco,” and “blu,” “cromo,” and “decoro bandiera are different shades of the same design (from a sky blue to alternating bands of platinum and gold), a dizzyingly hypnotic array of smallish circles, ideal for a wall adjacent to a tub or shower; “decoro camelia” etches a floral print in the self-same gold against a silver background; and “rosa” reveals the queen of flowers in a subtle auburn glow.

The beauty of Paillettes is that the same configuration of individual tiles can be used to create any design. Sort of like the great pointilist masterworks (or an Escher print), the image is only revealed in all its glory once one backs away a step or two (just be sure not to stumble back into the tub). A versatile solution for drab and/or failing tile installations, Paillettes’ elegant simplicity (in the bathroom above all) is certain to charm your pants off!