Floral Fantasy Takes Flight In These Ethereal Wallcoverings

Hand-tinted wax, mica-enriched plaster, and real gold glaze are just some of the artisanal materials Yolande Milan Batteau utilizes to make exquisite wallcoverings and surface treatments that harken back to pre-industrial craftmanship. To create Fleurs du Bien, a collection of atmospheric compositions for her Callidus Guild brand, the French designer looked to nature’s floral bounty. Nefertem, with striking mother-of-pearl inlays, evokes Egyptian water lilies; Sweet Pea was sparked by Batteau’s memories of said blossoms unfurling in her mother’s garden; Forget Me Not recalls a blurred field of the blue-toned flower; and Narcissus, in scumbled, cross-hatched layers of tinted lime and beeswax, traces the liminal zone where earth and sky meet.