The main image is borrowed from "Dolce Far Niente" by John William Godward (1904). The artist has altered the composition somewhat and changed the appearance of some of the materials in the scene, but has retained the emphasis on the beautiful lady as she languidly looks at the viewer. She is not quite lifesize and is the focal point of the room, presiding over the main seating area. Behind her the pond is actually a mirror behind the wood support.

The text to the left of the lady is from Edward Swinglehurst, and reads as follows:

Dolce Far Niente – "Sweet Idleness" – was a concept which appealed to many well-off Victorians with their supreme self-confidence and their delusions about having earned their reward by dint of hard work.