Last Wednesday, amid the frenzy of fairs and panels that comprise Design Week, the Chicago based Maya Romanoff quietly made its New York debut. The modest display of innovative wall coverings on view at Material ConneXion was not, however, the textile firm’s first appearance in the city. For nearly four decades now, its designs have been seen all over town in hotels, restaurants, and homes – not to mention Central Park (in 1980, a la Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Maya Romanoff himself draped Belvedere Castle in fabric).

Since founding the company in 1969, Mr. Romanoff has shown that it’s possible to transform nearly any material into an attractive and durable wall covering. Over the years, his stable of more traditional vinyls and paper-thin woods has expanded to include gold leaf and silk and natural materials like mica, grass, bamboo, and mother of pearl (prices range from $24 to $340 a yard).

It was the Beadazzled collection, however, first introduced in 2003, that earned Mr. Romanoff a permanent spot at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Made entirely of tiny glass beads, in a variety of colors ranging from ruby to brown sugar to caviar, the shiny, nubby wall coverings look a lot like, well, caviar. It’s fitting, then, that perhaps the best way for New Yorkers to get an eyeful of the stuff is to visit not a design showroom but a restaurant: On the third floor of the Geisha Restaurant, at 33 East 61st St., hangs a giant, one-of-a-kind Beadazzled mural depicting the face of a geisha. One can only assume that her shimmery, colorful features are best viewed by candlelight.

For more information, visit www.mayaromanoff.com.