Firle Meadow takes the stylised tulips and bluebells from the Firle print and gives them a wall of their own. It is a folksy, drawn-by-hand sort of floral, with the flowers standing up in rows like a bed that has just come into bloom, and it is printed on a non-woven paper so the surface is smooth and even. In a room it is cheerful without being sweet, and it works as well behind a bed as it does along a passage.
The paper is 100 per cent non-woven, 52 centimetres wide, with a 35 centimetre vertical repeat, which keeps waste modest. There are four colourways: Blue is the cool, clean one; Spice and Russet are warm, earthy versions that sit well with old timber; and Red/Green is the most traditional, the one we would use in a cottage bedroom. Because the repeat is short, the pattern reads as an all-over rather than a series of set pieces.
We would paper a whole bedroom in it, up to a plain painted ceiling, and pull one of the colours out for a plain wool blind. It is also good in a downstairs cloakroom, where a small room can carry a bold pattern, or on the back wall of a dressing room. If you want a match, the Firle fabric is printed on linen in Red/Green. Sold by the roll; order a sample before committing to a full room.
On hanging: it is a non-woven paper, so most decorators will paste the wall, hang each drop dry and trim in place; check the leaflet in the roll for the maker's instruction and the match. As a rule of thumb, a standard 10 metre roll gives three to four drops at a 2.4 metre ceiling, so a wall 4 metres wide takes three rolls with a little spare. Always buy from the same batch.
-
Composition: 100% non-woven
-
Roll width: 52 cm (20 in)
-
Pattern repeat: 35 cm vertical
-
Suitable for: Wallcovering
-
Care: Spongeable; follow the manufacturer's hanging and care guide
-
Collection: Garden Party Wallpaper, Mulberry Home
-
Colourways: 4 (Blue, Spice, Russet, Red/Green)
