Mark Alexander | Intaglio

Intaglio comes from the Collage II collection, and the name describes the method. The design is pressed into a natural-fibre ground so that the pattern reads as relief rather than as print, and you feel the impression under your hand before you properly see it. In flat daylight it behaves almost as a plain; under a raking light the recessed areas pick up shadow and the whole wall gains depth. That shift through the day is the point of the paper.

Each roll is 91 centimetres wide and 7.32 metres long, with a 64 centimetre vertical repeat, so plan your drops around the repeat rather than around the wall height. There are four colourways: Alabaster, Powder, Lake and Indigo, two pale and two decidedly blue. Alabaster is the one we specify most for a whole room; Indigo we keep for a single wall or a small space where depth is wanted. Panel-to-panel colour variation is inherent to a natural-fibre ground, not a fault in it, and reversing alternate drops distributes it evenly.

We tend to use Intaglio in dining rooms and studies, where the relief has time to be looked at, and in bedrooms above a panelled dado. It sits well with matt paintwork and unlacquered brass, and against plain linen curtains rather than a patterned cloth. In a hallway it gives a narrow space something to hold onto without closing it in. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Hang it paste-the-wall. Apply an even coat to the plaster, butt the drops rather than overlapping them, and take real care to keep adhesive off the face, because a natural-fibre surface will not sponge clean. Order every roll from the same batch and check the batch number on each label before you start cutting. We always add one spare roll to an order: a later batch will not match, and replacing a single damaged drop is simpler than rehanging a room.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 7.32 m
• Pattern repeat: 64 cm vertical
• Application: Paste-the-wall
• Suitable for: Feature walls, dining rooms, studies, bedrooms
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 4 (Alabaster, Powder, Lake, Indigo)