de Le Cuona | Etched Paisley – Macadamia

Etched Paisley takes a motif that is usually busy and treats it with restraint. The paisley is drawn in a fine, etched manner, so it reads as a soft texture from across the room and as a pattern only when you come close. Macadamia is a pale, warm, nutty neutral that keeps the whole cloth quiet. It is a wool cloth, so it has the density and gentle weight that wool brings, and it works where you want pattern without noise.

The cloth is 100% wool and 137 cm wide, from de Le Cuona, reference ETC1, in the colourway Macadamia. The vertical repeat is 72 cm and the horizontal repeat is 70 cm, which is a generous scale that suits larger surfaces. It is rated at 20000 rubs on the Martindale, which is comfortably strong enough for regular domestic upholstery. It is sold by the half metre, so you can order exactly the quantity your project needs without rounding up to the next full metre.

We tend to use this on a pair of full-length curtains in a drawing room, where the large repeat has room to show, or on a generous armchair or a settee that anchors a seating area. It would also suit a headboard in a bedroom. Macadamia works well with limed oak, soft white walls, stone and a deeper brown or charcoal for contrast, and a plain wool or linen in a close tone makes a good partner for cushions.

With a 72 cm vertical repeat, you will need extra cloth to match the pattern, so tell your workroom the finished drop before ordering and allow for the repeat on every length. For curtains, we would interline for body and ask for the pattern to sit consistently across the window. For upholstery, ask your upholsterer to centre the motif on the seat and back, and to match across the cushion and the frame where the pieces meet.