Mark Alexander | Evoke Wallcovering

Evoke is a natural-fibre wallcovering from the Collage IV collection, and it has no repeat in it, which tells you most of what you need to know. The surface is worked so that the variation is in the material itself rather than in a drawn design, and on a wall that gives you a broken, softly clouded ground. It is the sort of wallcovering we specify when a room needs a surface rather than a subject, and when paint would leave it feeling unfinished.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 10.97 metres long, which is the longer of the two roll lengths Mark Alexander works to and makes tall walls easier to plan. There is no repeat to allow for. There are three colourways. Whitewash is the palest, and it reads as a textured off-white. Stoneware sits in the middle, a warm clouded grey. Indigo is the dark blue, and it is the one that changes most between daylight and lamplight.

We use it across whole rooms rather than on one wall, because with no repeat there is no join to draw the eye: a bedroom, a snug, a panelled study. Whitewash is a good ceiling as well as a wall. Indigo suits a dining room you mostly use after dark. Pair it with plain linen, matt joinery and warm metal. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Hang it by pasting the wall rather than the paper, and use a paperhanger familiar with natural fibre, since the face will not tolerate paste or scrubbing. Order every roll in one batch, check the batch numbers before cutting, and keep a spare roll back for later repairs. Panel-to-panel colour variation is inherent to the material rather than a defect, so lay the rolls out and sequence the drops before hanging.

• Roll size: 91 cm wide x 10.97 m long
• Pattern repeat: No repeat
• Suitable for: Full rooms, feature walls, ceilings, bedrooms, studies
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage IV, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 3 (Indigo, Whitewash, Stoneware)