Iksel stages Chinese Suite at Milan’s design fair

The ochre expanse unfolds like a living scroll. Iksel’s Chinese Suite scenic wallpaper sprawls across the gallery wall at Salone del Mobile 2026, a narrative landscape populated with silhouetted figures in robes of crimson and slate blue, threading through mountainous terrain rendered in layered greys and burnt umbers. Pavilions and pagodas dot the composition, their architecture caught between two worlds: the delicate precision of Chinese painting and something altogether more elaborate, almost Persian in its architectural flourishes and decorative density.

The panels that inspired this décor date to the late 18th century, rare survivors of the era when chinoiserie captivated European sensibilities. Yet Iksel has not simply reproduced historical exactitude. Instead, the studio has allowed the source material to breathe and evolve, creating a scenic narrative that feels both rooted in tradition and distinctly contemporary in its scale and application.

Before the wallpaper, a round table in dark wood with brass detailing anchors the space, its surface reflecting light. Chairs upholstered in a textured greige linen frame the composition, their Louis XVI silhouettes rendered in whitewashed beechwood. Fresh white flowers rest in a deep navy vessel. The interplay between the ornate landscape behind and the restrained elegance of the furnishings creates a dialogue between spectacle and refinement, between the narrative grandeur of the scenic paper and the quiet confidence of classic form.

The collaboration with Salda Arredamenti grounds this presentation in the practical language of contemporary interior design. Salone del Mobile 2026 takes place in Milan during April.

Imagery courtesy of Iksel Decorative Arts (@iksel_decorative_arts).