Buy a puffin portrait for the story. Keep it for the deep red. The checkerboard behind the bird is hand-brushed rather than ruler-straight, so it brings pattern into a room without feeling like wallpaper. Put it up and a plain wall suddenly has a focal point: the orange beak and feet lift a room full of cream, clay and warm wood. It works at eye level in a hallway, above a kitchen counter, or leaning against a shelf in a study. Pair it with painted timber, checked cushions, stoneware and a warm neutral wall. Don’t hang it next to another strong repeating pattern one checkerboard per wall is plenty. As a canvas the painted surface reads as a real picture on the wall.