Seen beside linen, the peacock garden loses nostalgia and gains grit. The pinks read cleaner, the deep greens read almost black, and the whole thing stops looking sweet. Hang it and a plain wall turns into the focal point of the room, so the rest of the furniture can stay quiet. It works above a sofa, a bed or a sideboard, at a height where you can pick out the cranes and the tiny yellow birds. Pair it with soft green or off-white walls, cane, pale timber and a few plain ceramics. Don’t crowd it with patterned wallpaper or busy cushions it needs room to breathe. On canvas the surface is matte, so the colour stays soft under lamplight.