Terra Incognita, green

The composition is built like a stage set: overhanging vines form a natural proscenium across the top, twisting trunks frame each side, and the eye travels down a hazy central clearing toward a pale vanishing point. From the far side of the room it reads as a luminous tunnel of foliage with clusters of little houses at its feet; up close you start discovering the ladder propped against a toadstool roof, the wooden cart parked beside the tree-trunk door and a pair of tiny birds crossing the glade. Light pours in from behind the branches and scatters into fine sparkles, so the wall is brightest at its heart and deepens toward the edges, opening up the room by day while evening lamps let the shadowed corners recede. Because the deepest point of the scene sits near the middle, the mural lends real perspective to a flat surface and makes a compact room feel as though it opens onto a woodland trail. Natural wicker, bleached oak, woollen rugs, rattan pendants and simple linen bedding suit it best, leaving the artwork to supply the detail. Hang it on the wall facing the door, or behind a bed or bath, so the clearing meets the eye, and keep the surrounding walls quiet. Every order is printed to your exact measurements, so the glade can be centred precisely and the cottages stay clear of sockets, switches and skirting.