Inspired by the “chaos of the natural environment,” Atlanta-based designer Faye Bell creates wallcoverings and hand-painted murals that riff on the abstractions and formations of the organic world. Her eponymous studio recently released the Prisma collection, which features 18 murals (with horizontal repeats) that make add layers of colour, shape and a compelling lightness to interior settings. Included in the series are: 

Tropic Surf

An arrangement of angles and geometric shapes, Tropic Surf was inspired by a vintage photograph of deep water and crashing waves. The rhythmic pattern was achieved by collaging and painting a base with a blue ombre effect, while each individual square was traced and painted – the two applications create movement similar to the gestural flow of waves. 

Twilight Sound 

An abstract visualization of the natural sounds that accompany the transition from day into night, Twilight Sound features a multitude of circles surrounded by ripples that reverberate and overlap. Mixing purples, blues and greys, the kaleidoscope of irregular spheres and triangles represent the spectacular moment when the sun dips below the horizon and scatters the sky with the hazy tones of dusk. 

Flamingo Plume 

Blending a variety of desaturated pinks, Flamingo Plume pays homage to the beauty, grace and vibrancy of a – as its name implies – the plumage of a flamingo. Comprised of overlapping squares, each with a soft-edged triangular-like pattern within, the pattern features a horizontal repetition every 27 feet that lends it subtle texture and an ombre effect – it’s the painterly equivalent of the beautiful bird’s many feathers. 

Morning Mist 

The serene experience of watching fog rising and evaporating into the atmosphere was the basis for Morning Mist, which gives a series of repeated grids and circles a dreamy watercolour effect. Nodding to both modern geometry and natural phenomena, the monochromatic hues have a near-indiscernible variation and play with light in a pleasing way. 

Summer Flora 

A contemporary and stylized take on traditional florals, Summer Flora has a 36-foot horizontal repeat and is the most ambitious of the Prisma collection. Watercoloured circles and squares come together in an undulating pattern that appears to shift and change depending from where its viewed – its greatest visual trick is the giant full-bloom rhododendron that appears the further one steps back.