GP & J Baker | Tuffley Wallpaper

Tuffley is a small repeating figure from the House Small Prints II book, drawn from the GP & J Baker archive and set out on a close 12 centimetre vertical repeat. The geometry is loose rather than ruled, so the wall keeps a hand-drawn quality and avoids the slightly hard look that a strict trellis can give a room. At normal viewing distance it works as an all-over texture; up close it has enough drawing in it to be interesting. That combination is what makes it a good background paper.

Printed on a 100 per cent non-woven ground, 52 centimetres wide, with a 12 centimetre vertical repeat. Eight colourways: Blue, Aqua, Soft Red, Ochre, Leaf Green, Sand, Green and Blush. Sand is the quietest and the one we would default to in a hall that has to carry several doors and a lot of joinery. Leaf Green and Green are the richest. Aqua and Blush are the gentle options for a bedroom, and Soft Red and Ochre are the two that give a north-facing room some warmth.

We put this sort of paper in halls, landings and small studies, and above a painted dado where the pattern can run uninterrupted at eye level. It also lines the back of open shelving well. Keep the rest of the room plain and let the paper do the work, with curtains in a solid linen picked from the lighter of the two printed tones. Sold by the roll; order a sample before committing to a full room.

Paste the wall, hang the lengths dry and slide them to the match. With a 12 centimetre repeat you should allow one extra repeat per drop, which is modest. A four metre wall at 2.6 metres high takes eight drops and therefore three rolls at the usual 10 metres. On a staircase, set the first length plumb against a batten rather than off the corner, or the geometry will run away from you.