Christmas Morning Poster

A deep plum wallpaper scattered with small pale flowers fills most of the frame, with a brass chandelier holding three lit candles against it. Six framed botanical studies hang in two neat rows, and a woman in white sits reading in a rocking chair on a pink tiled floor. In the foreground a table is crowded with bowls of fruit, a lit candle and small dishes, cropped so that only part of it is visible. The paint is applied thickly, with the wallpaper pattern dabbed on rather than drawn. It captures a morning that has already been lived in.

The plum ground is dark enough to need a light wall behind it, so white or pale grey works better than colour. It suits a living room or a bedroom where there is time to look at the detail, rather than a corridor. A slim black frame echoes the picture frames inside the scene, while warm oak softens the whole thing. Give it decent height on the wall so the foreground table does not sit at knee level.