George & Minnie | Indienne Tree

Indienne Tree is the big design in George & Minnie's Volume One: a flowering tree in the Indienne tradition, printed on linen. The tree-of-life motif has been travelling between India and English drawing rooms for three centuries; this is a new drawing from the brand's London studio, lighter and more playful than its archive ancestors, with blossom threaded through the branches. It is a design that needs some room to breathe, and it repays being given it.

It is 100 per cent linen, 138 centimetres wide, with a 73 centimetre vertical repeat and a 69.5 centimetre horizontal one. The supplier rates it for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads. There are five colourways: Emerald/Periwinkle, Raspberry/Emerald, Periwinkle, Emerald and Walnut. The two-colour versions are the fullest, while Walnut on its pale ground is the one to choose if you want the drawing without the colour.

We use it where a single piece can carry a room: a pair of curtains in a sitting room with the walls kept plain, a tall headboard with the tree centred, or a bedspread where the whole design can lie flat and be seen. It sits well with Checkers or Minnie Check in one of its own colours on the smaller pieces. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A repeat this size changes the arithmetic. Allow a full 73 centimetres extra per drop for curtains, and let your curtain maker plan where the tree falls before cutting, so the trunk sits centrally on the leading edge rather than disappearing into the return. On a headboard, make a paper template and mark the centre line of the tree on the cloth first. Line and interline; linen looks best with some weight behind it.

• Composition: 100% linen
• Width: 138 cm (54 in)
• Pattern repeat: 73 cm vertical, 69.5 cm horizontal
• Suitable for: Curtains, loose and fixed upholstery, bedspreads
• Care: Professional dry clean only
• Collection: Volume One, George & Minnie
• Colourways: 5 (Emerald/Periwinkle, Raspberry/Emerald, Periwinkle, Emerald, Walnut)