Before anyone mentions natural history illustration, notice what the soft cream background does to painted panelling. It flattens the fussiness out of a wall and gives the woodwork something quiet to sit behind. Once it’s up, the room gets calmer, not busier: the olive back and fine black spots of the trout do all the work, and the pale surround keeps everything else in the room looking deliberate. Hang it at eye level in a study, along a hallway, or above a sideboard in a country-leaning dining room. Pair it with aged leather, dark wood, wool checks and stoneware. Skip anything loud beside it, and avoid crowding it with bright modern graphics or big saturated abstracts. As canvas the cream background reads a touch softer and matte.