Like Birds at Dusk: A Sensory Journey Through Jill Malek's Design World
Written by Dorothy Huntsman, Edited by McKenzie Lunt
Words become textures. Stories become patterns. In the hands of Jill Malek, wallpaper is no longer background, it's a whisper, a memory, a feeling made visible.
Since founding her studio in 2008, Jill Malek has been transforming interior spaces through innovative wall coverings, rugs, and textiles that blur the line between art and function. With a background in visual arts and experience as Art Director for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, her aesthetic sensibility draws from both professional expertise and a deeply personal foundation, growing up in a family of therapists and mental health professionals who understood the profound connection between environment and well-being.
Through our email exchange, Jill's words painted scenes so vivid I could almost touch them, inviting me to imagine the textures, rhythms, and emotions that define her design language.
The Moment Everything Shifted
Close your eyes and picture an old Brooklyn rooftop at dusk. Above, a flock of birds spins in synchronized murmuration, pale flashes catching the last light. They turn and return. They shimmer.
When I asked Jill about her creative origins, she didn't begin with design theory or color palettes. Instead, she transported me to this exact moment: "At that time, I lived across the street from a pigeon fancier... As the sun was setting, the light reflecting off of the birds was deeply magical and engendered a sense of wonder and excitement in me. I felt transported somehow."
That word, transported, threads through everything Jill creates. Her designs don't just decorate walls; they dissolve them.
The Discovery of Dimensional Touch
In her written responses, Jill describes a revelation about felt that I can almost feel through the screen: "Designers would instantly want to touch the felt and were intrigued by the layered dimensionality of it... Unlike traditional wallcoverings, felt allows for sculptural storytelling, enabling me to bring depth and texture to walls, transforming them into experiential, multi-sensory surfaces."
Reading her words, I imagine brushing fingertips across this dimensional felt, surfaces that must feel like sun-warmed petals, creating what she calls "emotional terrain." Even through email, her passion for this tactile medium is palpable.
Nature's Language, Translated
As our correspondence continues, Jill's descriptions paint walls that seem to breathe: "My wallcoverings are all expressions of poetic forms in nature. Immersive planes of the sun setting, rain falling, ascending mountains, bird murmurations..."
Through her words, I can envision these spaces, rooms where gradients capture that exact golden hour when shadows grow long, where patterns flow like water or wheel like those Brooklyn birds. Each design, she suggests, holds the power to shift our inner rhythms.
Where Healing Becomes Visible
When I ask about the impact of her work, Jill shares something that stops me mid-read. She quotes Zachary Quinto: "Jill Malek brought even more tranquility to my bedroom than even I thought possible. Her designs are evocative and visceral and the River pattern brings me peace every time I lay eyes on it."
Through these words, I understand: this isn't about luxury or trend. It's about creating spaces where the nervous system can finally exhale. Where walls don't confine but comfort. Where pattern becomes presence.
A Vision Taking Shape
As our email exchange draws toward its close, I ask Jill where she dreams of seeing her work next. Her response carries the same sense of possibility that must have filled that Brooklyn rooftop years ago:
"I love the idea of my felt wallcoverings in more and more children's spaces...or in a world-class wellness retreat or meditation center, such as a space nestled in the mountains. It would epitomize the union of nature, design, and human well-being that lies at the heart of my work."
Reading this, I imagine these future spaces, mountain sanctuaries where walls seem to breathe with you, children's rooms that nurture wonder, meditation centers where the very surfaces invite inner quiet. Places where her philosophy of "healing made visible" can fully bloom.
The Afterimage
Long after our correspondence ends, Jill's words linger like those birds against the darkening sky. Through her written descriptions alone, she's done what her wall coverings do, transformed a flat surface into dimensional experience, made me feel textures I've never touched, see patterns that exist somewhere between nature and dream.
This is the gift of her work: it doesn't demand attention but offers presence. Even through email, even through words on a screen, she's created that same transport she felt on the rooftop. A reminder that our interiors, both architectural and emotionalm can hold more light, more movement, more life than we might imagine.
In Jill Malek's hands, walls don't just divide space. They tell stories. They remember beauty. They invite us back to ourselves, gently, through surface, light, and form. And sometimes, if we're lucky, they help us feel, even for a moment, like birds at dusk, suspended between earth and sky, held by nothing but wonder.
Extended Interview: Jill Malek in Her Own Words
What follows is the full conversation with Jill Malek, presented in her original words, to preserve the voice and integrity of her reflections.
1. Your team asked us this, and I really liked the question … Can you briefly share with us your journey and the key motivations behind your brand's mission and what you do?
With a degree in Visual Arts from Oberlin College and a passion for painting, I entered the corporate world as a graphic designer, eventually becoming an Art Director for Starwood Hotels and Resorts. I opened my studio in 2008, with a focus on wallpaper products and textiles. My desire was (and still is) to make an impact on interior spaces and how they affect the people who inhabit them. Growing up in a family of therapists and mental health caretakers, the concept of “wellness” has been ingrained in me since birth. With an intrinsic interest in helping others, I have used wall art as a medium to radiate a sense of calm, tranquility, and deep connection to nature that others can experience. Over time, I have deeply recognized how design can evoke emotional connections and contribute to mindfulness, which has became the foundation of my mission: creating visually dynamic, sensory-rich environments that nurture and inspire.
2. As you describe, your designs often draw from the fluid forms of nature and urban landscapes. Can you share a moment or experience that profoundly influenced your creative vision?
Before I started my business, I used to go on the rooftop of my former apartment in Brooklyn, over 15 years ago. At that time, I lived across the street from a pigeon fancier, one of the last remaining in Brooklyn. He would guide flocking birds to make rhythmic circles in the sky. As the sun was setting, the light reflecting off of the birds was deeply magical and engendered a sense of wonder and excitement in me. I felt transported somehow. This experience became a blueprint for how I would tell stories in my work. It has since become my mission to capture poetic, fleeting moments in nature and recreate them as surface designs. I have told this story many, many times, and over the years, I have found that the way I have framed the story has changed. I am now focused on how the birds made me feel, rather than how they looked in the sky. This is an important discovery because it underlines my interest in inciting emotion in people that interact with my products. I am more interested in how an orchestration of color, texture, and pattern will make someone feel, rather than how it looks to them.
3. As a pioneer in dimensional felt wallcoverings, what drew you to this unique medium in wallpaper, and how does it allow you to tell stories in a way other materials cannot?
I first started working with felt by accident, after I was commissioned by Rockwell Group to create a mural for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I was paired with another artisan who worked with felt (Daniel Tillman), and he sewed by hand large, yellow magnolia flowers onto six unique areas throughout the piece which spanned about 100 ft. Designers would react strongly when I would bring samples of the finished mural to their respective offices. They would instantly want to touch the felt and were intrigued by the layered dimensionality of it. I could not find any other products in the market that married digital printing with sewn felt, so I decided to offer the option to have sewn felt accents on many of my wallcovering patterns going forward. The textured surface of the felt has a tactile quality that is inviting and welcoming and adds a richness and softness that other materials can not offer. Unlike traditional wallcoverings, felt allows for sculptural storytelling, enabling me to bring depth and texture to walls, transforming them into experiential, multi-sensory surfaces. In 2025, I will also be offering printed felt wall tiles to my customers.
4. Your work bridges the gap between art and function. How do you approach creating pieces that are not only visually stunning but also promote wellness in the spaces they inhabit?
It is an ongoing challenge to create products aimed to bring both calming and invigorating energy. When I design something that can offer those almost competing languages, I know a product is complete. There needs to be the right balance of nuanced colors, soft geometry, and balanced composition where everything flows harmoniously, yet also feels captivating. Every mural that comes out of the studio is tailored to a unique space, so this process occurs during the creation of each wallcovering mural product. Neutral colors with accented pops, organic free-flowing shapes, and an array of organized linework are all consistent trademarks in most of my products.
5. Biophilic design is a cornerstone of wellness in interiors. How do your wall coverings reflect and enhance the principles of nature-inspired interior design?
My wallcoverings are all expressions of poetic forms in nature. Immersive planes of the sun setting, rain falling, ascending mountains, bird murmuration’s, shifting landscapes — these are all themes that permeate my work and are infused within all of my interior products. Felt adds another layer by softening acoustics and creating a sensory connection to nature that is both visual and tactile.
6. How do you envision your products being used in spaces designed to support mental health or academic activities, such as therapy rooms, yoga and meditation centers, schools and universities? Your designs are also now expanding into healthcare, hospitality and corporate interiors. How do you adapt your artistic vision to meet the unique demands of these environments?
The interiors for a workspace can sometimes be different from a healthcare setting. Workspace interiors are often more colorful and exploratory while healthcare and wellness settings are more subdued and monochromatic. Workspaces interiors also often want sound absorbing materials while healthcare and wellness, depending on where the wall covering will go, sometimes needs to be bleach cleanable. I try to offer a range of color stories and sustainable substrates that cater to all of the different design needs of my client base, while still adhering to the idea of illustrating dynamic and expressive forms in nature. My entire product portfolio is intended to serve as both functional and aesthetic elements that encourage mindfulness and support concentration.
7. Have you heard any memorable stories or feedback from people who have experienced your designs in the spaces where they are installed? How do these responses shape or inspire your future work?
I recently collaborated with celebrity Zachary Quinto, who hung our “River” mural in his bedroom. Zachary is a very thoughtful, introspective human being who meditates daily, and I don’t think it was by accident that he gravitated towards my body of work. He recently said “Jill Malek brought even more tranquility to my bedroom than even I thought possible. Her designs are evocative and visceral and the River pattern brings me peace every time I lay eyes on it.” We also worked with another family recently who purchased three unique patterns that appear in four areas within their NYC loft. They claimed that they “wanted texture and movement but not intrusive colors” throughout their space. They also wanted “deep and interesting hues to pull the eye plus soothing, warm patterns” in their home.
9. If you could see your dimensional felt wallcoverings in any space in the world, where would it be and why?
As someone who spent years working as a creative within a corporate setting, I struggled to feel fully at ease within certain company settings. Lack of adequate light in certain offices, and uninspired color palettes and finishes sometimes aided to my inability to feel inspired. More and more, my felt wall coverings are showing up in the headquarters for well-regarded workspaces, and I love the idea of more corporations hiring designers like myself who can bring a sense of curated artistry to their interiors. I also love the idea of my felt wall coverings in more and more children’s spaces as they can be very playful and very whimsical. Finally, I would love to see them in a world-class wellness retreat or meditation center, such as a space nestled in the mountains. It would epitomize the union of nature, design, and human well-being that lies at the heart of my work.
More on Jill Malek - When Wildfires Stole Our Outdoor Sanctuaries
Jill Malek is an award-winning designer that creates wallcoverings, rugs and textiles for the interior design and architecture community. Her work captures fluid, organic forms in nature — the ebb of waves, light transitions, bird migrations — translating them into patterns with subtle movement and emotional resonance. A pioneer in the use of dimensional felt materials in commercial wall covering, Jill Malek has raised the industry’s bar by offering transformative products that promote wellness and illustrate expressive forms in nature.
Jill also collaborates with other reputable companies that translate her surface designs onto different substrates. Recently expanding into architectural glass murals with Skyline, “Murals on Glass" introduces large‑scale nature‑inspired designs printed on glass that enhance mood and spatial quality.
With a career spanning two decades, Jill Malek has created a successful name among designers and architects. In addition to high-end residential interiors, the studio’s work has expanded to include healthcare, retail, hospitality and corporate interiors.
Related Articles
Lime Paint’s Environmental Renaissance
Spotlight on the Trauma
Amangiri: A Masterclass in Multisensory Healing Design
