Rooms go quieter when warm brown is this sure of itself. A single bird, drawn with real care and set on a wide cream page, gives a wall something to settle into. Hang it above a writing desk, in a narrow hallway, or between windows in a bedroom, and the room reads calmer straight away. It sits happily with aged leather, linen, dark stained wood and cream ceramics, and it lifts a chalky off-white or soft sage wall. Keep the area around it simple one lamp, one vase, nothing competing. Avoid crowding it with loud colour or heavy pattern; the pale page needs room to breathe. As a canvas the soft cream ground takes on a slightly matt, painterly finish.