Mark Alexander | Abac Patchwork Wallcovering

Abac Patchwork takes the abaca fibre used across the Collage III collection and sets it in blocks, each panel laid at a different orientation so that the light catches one square and passes over the next. The result is a shifting chequer that changes as you move through a room, without a single printed line anywhere in it. Close to, you see the fibre; from across a room you see the grid. It is a lot of texture handled with restraint.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 10.97 metres long, with a 138 centimetre vertical repeat. That is a long one, and it is the figure that will most affect your quantities, so calculate drops carefully and expect some waste. Six colourways are offered: Alabaster, Natural, Gris, Sepia, Typhoon and Pewter, running from near-white through warm brown to cool grey. Colour variation between panels is inherent to hand-laid fibre and the blocks make it more visible rather than less. That is the design working, and worth telling a client in advance.

We use a paper like this on a single wall behind a bed, in a dining room, or lining the inside of a set of alcoves. It carries a room on its own, so we keep everything else quiet: plain curtains, matt woodwork, no competing pattern. It takes side light particularly well, which makes it a good choice for a wall running away from a window. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Hang paste-the-wall, butting the drops and never overlapping. Keep paste off the face, as the fibre will not sponge clean. Align the block grid at eye level before smoothing each drop down, because a drift is obvious on a geometric layout. Order all rolls from a single batch and check the batch number on every label. Add a spare roll, since a later batch will not match and it is simpler to replace one drop than to rehang a wall.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 10.97 m
• Pattern repeat: 138 cm vertical
• Application: Paste-the-wall
• Suitable for: Feature walls, bedrooms, dining rooms, alcoves
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage III, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 6 (Alabaster, Sepia, Natural, Gris, Typhoon, Pewter)