Dotty is the simplest thing in House Small Prints II and probably the most useful. A hand-drawn spot, slightly irregular rather than mechanical, set on a plain ground and repeating every 7.5 centimetres. At that scale it reads as a soft wash of colour from across the room and only resolves into dots when you are close to it. We use papers like this when a wall needs warmth and a bit of movement but the room already has enough going on at the window or on the floor.
The ground is 100 per cent non-woven, printed 52 centimetres wide, with a 7.5 centimetre vertical repeat. Nine colourways, which is unusually generous for a small print: Blue, Aqua, Blush, Ochre, Green, Soft Green, Red/Blue, Blue/Green and Parchment. Parchment is the near-neutral and the one to use if you want the spot to disappear into the wall. Blush and Soft Green are the gentlest of the colours, Ochre and Red/Blue the strongest, and Blue is the workhorse.
This is a paper for children's rooms, cloakrooms, utility rooms and the awkward top landing that never quite got finished. It is also good inside cupboards and on the ceiling of a small bathroom. Because the pattern is so small it will sit happily under a bolder curtain fabric, which is exactly how we tend to use it. Sold by the roll; order a sample before committing to a full room.
Paste the wall and hang the lengths dry. The 7.5 centimetre repeat means almost no wastage, so quantities can be worked tightly, but do still allow a spare roll for reveals and cut-ins. A four metre wall at 2.6 metres high needs eight drops, which is three rolls at the usual 10 metre length. A spot this small shows a poor butt joint more than a busy print does, so it pays to have it hung by someone who takes their time.
-
Composition: 100% non-woven
-
Roll width: 52 cm (20.4 in)
-
Pattern repeat: 7.5 cm vertical
-
Care: Spongeable; follow the manufacturer's hanging guide
-
Collection: House Small Prints II Wallpaper, GP & J Baker
-
Colourways: 9 (Blue, Aqua, Blush, Ochre, Green, Soft Green, Red/Blue, Blue/Green, Parchment)
