Boy with Butterfly Net by Henri Matisse

Boy with Butterfly Net by Henri MatisseOpen the curtains at mid morning; the viridian will handle the drama. Matisse's 1907 portrait of a red haired boy with a butterfly net brings three big, confident fields of colour into the room deep cobalt sky, viridian hillside, oxblood earth path and lets them do the work usually asked of paint, rugs and cushions combined. Hang it in a room you want to wake up: a study, a hallway you walk past every morning, a corner of the living room that has gone

The print is busy by design — a cat sitting calmly inside a William Morris-style garden of pink blooms and dark teal leaves — and the cat is what stops it tipping into wallpaper

dressing room or bar corner and the whole room lifts

Avoid heavy industrial surroundings — concrete

The sand tones lift pale walls

The mustard

neutral sofas pick up the peach

stoneware and a few dark green or navy textiles

busy rooms get a little more order

It cuts through busy kitchens and softens stark bar walls without trying too hard

or on a feature wall where it has room to breathe

Pop this on your living room or bedroom wall

over a vanity