Mark Alexander | Tressage Wallcovering

Tressage is a natural-fibre wallcovering whose surface is built from plaited lengths of material, so the wall gains a genuine relief rather than a printed impression of one. There is no repeat. Light raking along it picks out the braiding and drops the recesses into shadow, which means the wall looks quite different at nine in the morning and at nine at night. It is a heavy, handmade surface, and it asks for restraint from everything around it.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 7.3 metres long, with no repeat to allow for, so quantities come down to straightforward wall area plus waste. It is made in one colourway only, Bark, a warm mid brown that carries the undyed tone of the fibre with a little depth behind it. Because there is no alternative shade to choose between, the decision is really about where it goes and what sits next to it rather than which version to have.

We use it on a single wall and let it do the work of an artwork: behind a bed, along the back of a dining room, or on the chimney breast of a sitting room. It also lines a small windowless space well, a cloakroom or a bar, where the relief gives the eye somewhere to rest. Pair it with matt plaster or a flat paint on the remaining walls and keep the lighting low and angled. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Hang it by pasting the wall, and use a paperhanger who has handled plaited or woven fibre before, because the raised surface traps paste and cannot be cleaned afterwards. Order all the rolls in one batch and check the numbers match before cutting, and add a spare roll for repairs. Panel-to-panel variation in a plaited fibre is inherent to the material; lay the rolls out and sequence the drops so the shift is gradual.

• Roll size: 91 cm wide x 7.3 m long
• Pattern repeat: No repeat
• Suitable for: Feature walls, chimney breasts, cloakrooms, bars
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage IV, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 1 (Bark)