It’s always a joy to see an abundance of festivities at this time of year. I love Christmas and take great pride in decorating my home so that it’s ready for the steady flow of family and friends during this period. This year I am mixing berry tones with burnished gold accents for a warm and cosy feel.

For my dining room, I love to embrace the traditional, rich tones of Christmas with plenty of rich colours; dark reds, gold, greens and foliage.

I’ve put together a few of my top tips for decorating an opulent Christmas table setting so you can achieve this festive style in your own home.

Embellish certain parts of the room and table setting with festive accessories. For Christmas, a white table cloth is essential as it sets it apart from any other time of the year and elevates the room. The table itself is strewn with pomegranates and accents of red and gold found within the china and the red velvet napkin rings. If you look closely, even the napkins have a subtle red thread squaring off the corners.

Try something different. After covering the fireplace in greenery, I hung unusual tapered foliage from the mantlepiece, and from the candelabra overhead, to give the overall scheme some extra depth. Small touches of gold to the table top will also glitter prettily in the candlelight.

A selection of baubles, decorations and ribbons that match the chosen red, gold and green colour theme continue throughout the house.

The front door is the first thing you see upon entering a home and it’s always good to make an impression. I have lined the archway with festive foliage and continued the dark red colour theme with a statement red ribbon.

Wishing you and your families a wonderful few weeks over this festive period.

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Katharine Pooley's top tips, design, ideas, trends and more...