Buy a puffin painting for the story. Keep it for the bright red. Rooms with plain walls and quiet furniture need one thing that answers back, and this is it. Hung up, the slate blue softens a cool room while the red picks up anything warm you already own a rug, a cushion, a clay pot. It works above a sideboard, along a hallway, or on a narrow stretch of kitchen wall where you pass it every day. Pair it with linen, painted wood and simple stoneware. Don’t crowd it with other strong colour pieces or busy pattern; leave the wall either side clear and let it lead. As a canvas the thick brushmarks feel closer to a painting on the wall.