Materials

Papier-mâché vs cement: which handmade material is right for your home?

Almost everything we make begins as one of two materials: torn paper and paste, or a bucket of cement. They could hardly be more different to work with — and they bring very different characters into a room.

Weight and presence

Cement is honest about its mass. A cast cement lamp or concrete bowl sits with real weight — it grounds a shelf or console and will not budge when you brush past it. Papier-mâché is the opposite: a large papier-mâché bowl can span forty centimetres and still lift with two fingers. If a piece will hang — like a pendant shade — lightness is not just aesthetic, it is structural.

Texture and surface

Cement cures with a cool, mineral surface: fine pores, the occasional tiny air bubble, sometimes flecks of terrazzo. It reads as architectural. Papier-mâché dries into something warmer — a slightly uneven, chalky skin that carries the marks of the hands that layered it. Side by side, cement feels quarried; papier-mâché feels grown.

How they handle light

This is where the two materials really separate. Cement blocks light completely, which makes it perfect for lamp bases and directional shades with crisp shadow lines. Papier-mâché glows: with a bulb behind it, the layered paper softens and diffuses the light into a warm haze. A room lit through paper feels different — calmer — than one lit past concrete.

Choose cement where you want the object to hold its ground, and papier-mâché where you want it to hold the light.

Care and longevity

Both materials are far tougher than they look, with one shared enemy: standing water. Cement can live on a bathroom shelf or a covered balcony; papier-mâché prefers dry rooms and a dusting with a soft brush. Our care guide covers both in detail. Sealed properly, each will outlast most factory-made décor — and age with more grace.

Or simply mix them

The pairing is the real answer. A heavy cement base under a paper shade; a pale papier-mâché bowl on a concrete plinth. The contrast of mass and lightness, cool and warm, is exactly the tension that makes a shelf interesting. You can see both materials across our bowls & vessels and sculptural décor collections — every piece made to order in Yerevan, in either material, in your colour.