Give the hallway wall one hard decision, and let everything else relax. This antique bird study does the talking in warm brown, soft grey and cream, so the rest of the room can stay plain. Once it is up, a flat stretch of wall reads as considered rather than empty, and the pale background keeps things light even though the subject is detailed. It works at eye level in a hallway, above a small chest of drawers, or on a narrow strip of study wall. Pair it with oak or dark wood, linen, aged leather and cream ceramics. Avoid crowding it with bright modern graphics or busy patterned wallpaper, which flatten the fine linework. On fine-art paper the feather detail and the old caption line stay sharp.