Mark Alexander | Duo Acaba Wallcovering

Duo Acaba is a natural-fibre wallcovering laid by hand onto a paper backing, and the name describes what happens on the surface: two weights of fibre worked together, a finer thread running against a heavier one so the weave never settles into a single rhythm. Held at arm's length it reads as a soft, even texture. Close up you can see the individual strands, the slight unevenness where one gives way to the next, and the shadow the weave casts along its own line.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 7.32 metres long, with no repeat to match. Six colourways: Atmosphere and Seasalt at the quiet end, French Grey in the middle, then Tempest and Ocean for depth, with Berber Red the one warm note in the range. Because the fibre is natural and dyed after weaving, tone varies from panel to panel and from roll to roll. That shading is inherent to the material rather than a fault, and it is worth planning for rather than fighting.

We use Duo Acaba where a wall needs texture without pattern, so a dining room, a study lined on all four sides, the back of a bookcase, or a hallway that would look bare in paint. It sits well with limewash, unlacquered brass and oak. Seasalt keeps a small room open; Tempest works where a room is used mainly in the evening. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

This is a paste-the-wall product: paste the wall, hang the length dry, and keep paste off the face, because natural fibre marks and will not clean. Order all rolls in one go and check they carry the same batch number. Hang panels in sequence and reverse alternate drops if the shading is pronounced. Allow one spare roll beyond your measured quantity, as a later batch will not match.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 7.32 m
• Pattern repeat: None — free match
• Application: Paste-the-wall
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage III, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 6 (Atmosphere, Seasalt, French Grey, Tempest, Ocean, Berber Red)