Mark Alexander | Rushes

Rushes is a wallcovering of fine natural stems laid in loose horizontal bands across a paper backing, so the surface shifts between denser and more open passages as it goes up the drop. It is a quieter thing than a full grasscloth. The stems are thin, the relief is shallow, and the banding reads as a subtle movement rather than a stripe. Seen close, the individual stems are clear; from across a room it settles into an even texture.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 10.97 metres long, with a 15.2 centimetre vertical repeat. Three colourways: Jasper White, the lightest and the one that shows the banding most clearly; Stoneware, a warm grey-beige; and Atlantic, a deep blue where the texture reads as relief rather than colour. As with any natural fibre, tone varies between panels and along a roll, and that variation is part of what the material is.

We use Rushes where a room needs a surface rather than a statement, so a bedroom, a dressing room, or the walls of a snug. The short repeat means it works well in a space cut up by doors and windows, because there is less to lose at each opening. Jasper White with pale timber, Atlantic against brass and dark joinery. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Paste the wall and hang each length dry, matching the 15.2 centimetre repeat at the seams so the banding continues across the join. Butt the edges rather than overlapping them. Keep paste off the face and wipe strays while dry, as the stems will not take a wet clean. Order every roll together on one batch number and add one spare, so a later repair comes from the same run.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 10.97 m
• Pattern repeat: 15.2 cm vertical
• Application: Paste-the-wall
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 3 (Jasper White, Stoneware, Atlantic)