Mark Alexander | Levant Wallcovering

Levant is a wide-scale natural wallcovering with a long, drifting movement running up the drop. The fibre and the ground are worked so that the surface shifts gradually rather than repeating tightly, and because the repeat is long most walls take it as a continuous field with no obvious rhythm. It has a dry, slightly chalky finish. In a tall room it behaves almost like a rendered surface with a grain in it, which is useful when plaster alone would be too plain.

The roll is 91 centimetres wide and 10.97 metres long, with a 160 centimetre vertical repeat. That is long enough to affect quantities, so calculate drops on the repeat rather than on the wall height alone. Three colourways are made: Chestnut, a warm brown, Whitewash, a pale chalked neutral, and Metal, a cool mid-grey. Panel-to-panel variation is part of the material and should be expected. Order every roll from the same batch and accept that adjacent drops will not be identical.

We use Levant on a full wall in a double-height hall or a stairwell, where the long repeat has room to show, and in dining rooms where the surface catches candlelight well. Whitewash keeps a north-facing room from going cold, and Chestnut is the one we choose when the joinery is already dark. It pairs quietly with linen curtains in a near tone rather than a contrast. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Hang it paste-the-wall, butting the seams and working from a plumb line rather than from the corner of the room. The 160 centimetre repeat means more waste than a short-repeat paper, so measure the drop, round up to the next full repeat and add a panel for safety. Check batch numbers on delivery before any roll is cut. Order at least one spare roll, since a later repair will not match unless it comes from the same batch, and wipe only with a soft dry cloth.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 10.97 metres
• Pattern repeat: 160 cm vertical
• Suitable for: Halls, stairwells, dining rooms, feature walls
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage IV, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 3 (Chestnut, Whitewash, Metal)