Mark Alexander | Kuima Wallcovering

Kuima is a grasscloth wallcovering, woven rather than printed, and there is no repeat in it at all. The interest comes entirely from the fibre: the lengths of grass vary in thickness, they sit at slightly different angles, and where two lengths meet there is a faint horizontal line that runs the width of the panel. On a wall that reads as a very fine, irregular banding. It is the sort of surface you notice with your hand before you notice it with your eye.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 7.32 metres long, with no repeat to allow for, which keeps the quantities straightforward. There are three colourways. Canvas is the warm natural, closest to the undyed fibre. Powder is the palest and coolest, and the one we use in a small room that needs to stay light. Salt Marsh carries a soft green-grey and sits well against stone, oak and anything already sun-bleached.

We use it in bedrooms, in halls and on the walls of a study, and it is a good answer for a landing or a stairwell where a pattern would be cut about by the architecture. Because there is no repeat, it also suits awkward rooms with several short walls. Pair it with plain linen, matt paintwork drawn from the paler fibres, and a wool or jute floor. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Hang it by pasting the wall, and use a paperhanger who has handled grasscloth, because paste on the face will stain. Order all rolls in one batch, check the batch numbers before cutting, and keep a spare roll for repairs. Panel-to-panel colour variation is inherent to a natural woven fibre and should be planned for rather than treated as a fault; lay the rolls out, sequence them, and hang alternate drops reversed if you want an even run.

• Roll size: 91 cm wide x 7.32 m long
• Pattern repeat: No repeat
• Suitable for: Feature walls, full rooms, bedrooms, halls, stairwells
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Grasscloth II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 3 (Powder, Salt Marsh, Canvas)