 After construction , Morris invited friends to visit , most notably Burne @-@ Jones and his wife Georgiana , as well as Rossetti and his wife Lizzie Siddal . They aided him in painting murals on the furniture , walls , and ceilings , much of it based on Arthurian tales , the Trojan War , and Geoffrey Chaucer 's stories , while he also designed floral embroideries for the rooms . They also spent much time playing tricks on each other , enjoying games like hide and seek , and singing while accompanied by the piano . Siddall stayed at the House during summer and autumn 1861 as she recovered from a traumatic miscarriage and an addiction to laudanum ; she would die of an overdose in February 1862 . 
