Casamance | Johara Wallpaper (Colours 1–37)

Johara is Casamance's velvet-effect plain: a paper that imitates a cut velvet stretched over the wall, with the soft, light-absorbing surface of the cloth and none of its seams. It is printed on vinyl with a non-woven backing, matt with a faint directional nap, and it is the ground on which Neria and Irisor are printed. On the wall it gives a room a quieter, warmer feel than paint.

Vinyl on a non-woven backing at 330 grams per square metre, 70 centimetres wide on a 10.05 metre roll, with no pattern repeat; the maker specifies hanging with reversed alternate lengths. Fire rated B-s2,d0 and ASTM E84 Class A, with an A+ COV rating, and made in Italy. There are 74 colourways, from Blanc Optique, Craie, Givre and Opaline through the beiges, taupes and greys to Sauge, Céladon, Teal Blue, Bleu Persan, Marine, Rouille, Lie De Vin, Aubergine and Noir; the mid-tone naturals are the ones we use most, and the deep shades suit a dining room or a study.

We use Johara on all four walls of a bedroom or a sitting room, where its softness makes a difference to how the room feels, and on the walls around a Neria feature wall in the matching colour. It suits velvet upholstery and heavy curtains. Sold by the roll; order a sample before committing to a full room.

Hang it as a paste-the-wall non-woven; it dry strips later. There is no repeat, so waste is low, but this is a paper where technique matters: reverse every other drop, top to bottom, so that like edges meet at the seams and any slight difference across the width does not show. A 70 centimetre by 10.05 metre roll covers about 7 square metres; a typical 3.5 by 2.6 metre wall takes 5 drops, so allow 2 rolls.