Mark Alexander | Wicker Wallcovering

Wicker is a grasscloth woven from natural fibre in a broad, open basket structure, so the wall gains a clear horizontal rhythm as well as a texture. The strands are thicker than on a fine grasscloth and the weave stays visible from a distance, which makes it a good choice where a room needs something to hold on to. Close up the fibre is dry, slightly irregular and entirely matt.

Each roll is 91 centimetres wide and 7.32 metres long, and there is no pattern repeat to set out. Six colourways: Natural and Whitewash at the pale end, Loam and Paprika through the warm middle, and Atlantic and Dark Teal for darker schemes. Natural fibre takes dye unevenly by nature, so tone will shift from panel to panel across a wall. Plan for it — hung well, that variation is what gives grasscloth its depth.

We use Wicker on a single wall behind a bed, in a dining room where the light is low, or lining the walls of a study. It takes lamplight particularly well and quietens a room acoustically as much as visually. Put it with plain linen curtains, a wool rug and timber that has been limed rather than lacquered. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Hang it paste-the-wall and keep paste off the face, because grasscloth stains and cannot be washed. Order every roll in one go and check that the batch numbers on the labels match, since a later batch will read differently. Reverse-hang alternate panels if you want the colour variation to blend rather than step. We would always add one spare roll beyond the calculated quantity for trimming and future repair.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 7.32 m
• Pattern repeat: None — woven texture
• Suitable for: Walls, feature walls, joinery panels
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Grasscloth II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 6 (Atlantic, Paprika, Loam, Dark Teal, Whitewash, Natural)