Back in the 1950s, this bird pattern belonged to another kind of home. It was the sort of thing painted to be lived with quietly, not studied. On the wall it does something useful: the repeated cream birds read as texture from across the room, then break into individual doves as you get closer, with rust and dark green showing through the gaps. Hang it above a sofa, a sideboard or a low bed, where the wide shape has room to stretch. It sits happily with linen, cane, pale oak and stoneware in oat and clay tones. Keep the wall around it clear busy patterned wallpaper or a crowded shelf will fight the repetition and flatten it.