Open the curtains at mid-morning; the mustard yellow will handle the drama. From there the room does less work: one wall carries the colour and everything else can stay plain. Hang it above a low sideboard, a bench in the hallway, or on the wall beside a desk where you see it while you work. It suits warm woods, black metal, cream linen and dusty pink or rust upholstery, with a couple of mustard or cream stoneware pieces nearby. Keep the wall around it clear. Busy florals, heavy patterned wallpaper or a crowded shelf directly beneath will flatten the shapes and lose the point of it. As a canvas the chalky texture in the cream ground reads softly across a larger wall.