Icarus by Henri Matisse Canvas Print

Icarus by Henri Matisse Canvas PrintNot because it's blue, but because it refuses to fade back. Matisse's Icarus has presence the figure stands tall on the wall and the room rearranges itself around it. Hang it where you actually spend time: above a sofa, behind a desk, in a hallway you walk through every day. The deep blue settles down a busy room; the yellow stars and tiny red heart give it lift. Pair with warm woods, cream linen, a little brass, and one or two soft textures. Skip

a bedroom console

in the kitchen near the kettle

and soft pink peonies on a mossy green rock

Kusama knew how to charm a room — and how to cut

Don't try to soften it with quiet botanicals — let it lead

It works hard above a sideboard

not a gallery wall around it

a desk or a narrow console in a hallway

or a slim console in a hallway that catches lamplight

Give it a bit of breathing room

this Amalfi Coast cityscape refuses to behave

Skip glossy chrome and busy patterned wallpaper nearby — the navy wants quiet around it to breathe