Long before anyone thought to print a pattern onto paper, walls were being lined with the real thing. Grasscloth's story reaches back roughly two thousand years to China, where jute, sisal and abaca fibres were dried, dyed and woven by hand into narrow strips, then laminated to a backing paper and hung much as they still are today. Because it is a real material rather than a printed one, no two rolls read quite the same, colour and thickness shift slightly along the length, which is exactly the irregularity that makes it look handmade rather than manufactured. This week's edit runs through nine colourways of the genuine weave from Thibaut and Mark Alexander, then a few printed effect papers worth knowing about if practicality matters more to you than authenticity.
What the real thing actually is
Start with Mackinac, in Natural, from Thibaut's Grasscloth Resource 7 collection. It shows the weave in its most honest state, closer to raw fibre than to a decorating choice. Set it beside Bamboo Wallcovering, in Bark, from Mark Alexander's Grasscloth II range, and the family resemblance is obvious even though the two brands weave from different mills, both a fine, textural interruption to the eye rather than a printed motif.
Mackinac, Natural, Grasscloth Resource 7 by Thibaut
Bamboo Wallcovering, Bark, Grasscloth II by Mark Alexander
The same weave, a different mood entirely
Real fibre still drinks up colour, easy to forget looking at a swatch card of neutrals. Montgomery Weave, in Lavender, from the same Thibaut collection, takes on a cool, dusty tone that reads almost like linen from across a room. Palm Wallcovering, in Atlantic, from Mark Alexander, goes darker still, a deep olive green good enough to line the inside of a kitchen cabinet, which is exactly where it has ended up below.
Montgomery Weave, Lavender, Grasscloth Resource 7 by Thibaut
Palm Wallcovering, Atlantic, Grasscloth II by Mark Alexander
Further into the range
Two more worth knowing. Maroma, in Seaglass, is a soft, blue-green Thibaut colourway suited to a dining room that gets good light. Quatro, Harvest, from Mark Alexander's Collage IV range, is the most intricate of the nine, cut pieces of hand-woven grasscloth embroidered with an overlocked stitch and assembled by hand into a mosaic, which is why it earns a doorway alcove of its own rather than trying to disappear into the background.
Maroma, Seaglass, Grasscloth Resource 7 by Thibaut
Quatro, Harvest, Collage IV by Mark Alexander
More from the same two houses
Two more worth a look. Hampton, in Apple Green, is a warmer, more overtly coloured take on the Grasscloth Resource 7 weave already seen above, styled here against a gilt mirror and an inherited chest of drawers. Reed Wallcovering, in Natural, from Mark Alexander's Grasscloth II range, goes the other way entirely, an undyed, pale straw tone that reads almost architectural against a plain wooden console and a woven chair.
Hampton, Apple Green, Grasscloth Resource 7 by Thibaut
Reed Wallcovering, Natural, Grasscloth II by Mark Alexander
The warmer end of the shelf
Thibaut's grasscloth runs deeper still. Bethany Raffia, in Off White, comes from an earlier volume in the same series, a paler, more open weave, proof that hand-woven fibre does not have to mean beige to feel understated. Shang, Extra Fine Sisal, in Emerald Green, from the same Grasscloth Resource Volume 6, takes the opposite approach, a jewel tone bold enough to hold its own against botanical prints and antique green glass.
Bethany Raffia, Off White, Grasscloth Resource by Thibaut
Shang, Extra Fine Sisal, Emerald Green, Grasscloth Resource Volume 6 by Thibaut
And for a room that wants some warmth, Lauderdale, in Pumpkin, is the one to look at first, a rust-orange weave confident enough to hold its own against a gallery wall of antlers and a wicker egg chair, exactly as styled below.
Lauderdale, Pumpkin, Grasscloth Resource by Thibaut
If you would rather not commit to the real thing
Not every grasscloth-inspired paper needs to be woven by hand, and there is no shame in that. Two more genuine weaves worth a mention, Union Square, in Light Taupe, from Thibaut's Grasscloth Resource 4, and Burlap Wallcovering, in Typhoon, from Mark Alexander, both sit at a gentler price point within their collections. For a printed effect instead, Galerie's Shades of Colour and Casamance's Pandan, in Gris Cendre, from the Select 8 collection, both reproduce the raised, three-dimensional look of a weave in ink rather than fibre, which means they wipe clean and will not fade unevenly the way a natural material can. Galerie's woven-effect Eden, in Blue, and Osborne & Little's embossed Abaca, in Celadon, from the Paramo Vinyls collection, round out the group, both practical vinyls that borrow the texture without any of the fragility.
Ready to bring grasscloth into your home?
Browse the full grasscloth wallpaper collection for the genuine woven ranges from Thibaut and Mark Alexander, or the grasscloth effect collection if practicality matters more than authenticity. Whichever side you land on, colour and texture never read the same on a screen as they do on your own wall, so order a sample first from each product page or our Sample Service page and live with it for a few days before committing.
