Try it above the sideboard; the tall vertical will do the editing. A cream and navy checkerboard behind a coral crane gives a flat wall a proper focal point without needing anything else added. Rooms that have gone slightly beige suddenly have a colour story: warm pink-orange against deep blue, held together by soft green legs and wing shadows. Hang it above a sideboard, a low bench in the hall, or between two windows where the grid can line up with the frames. Pair it with cream upholstery, dark wood and simple stoneware. Keep patterned wallpaper, striped rugs and other checks well away from it this piece is the pattern in the room. On paper the chalky brushwork and painted squares stay crisp and matt.