The festive season is the perfect time to gather friends and family. Ensure that you and your home are ready for guests with our festive interiors tips. From making the most of your entertaining space to maximising your storage, read on for all you need to be merry, bright and organised.

1) Gather in the kitchen

The kitchen has always been a convenient place to gather guests, especially with the rise of open-plan spaces. If you’re understandably hesitant about juggling the Christmas turkey, Brussel sprouts and friends and family, consider designs that make this process easier. Breakfast bar-style seating at a kitchen island, for example, means that you can prepare or even cook food while still talking with guests. And having a designated seating area reduces a standing crowd – and hopefully the pressure.

Discover more kitchen design ideas.

2) Build a bar in any space

The festive season is ideal for enjoying a warming hot chocolate or glass of mulled wine. If you’ve dreamed about having an at-home bar but don’t think you have the space, think again. The Trolley and Pocket System from German manufacturers next125 means that you can create a luxury bar in the comfort of your home. Whether that’s in a spare room or corner of a living room, kitchen, or even home office.

Winner of a German Design Award, the innovative Pocket System conceals a glamorous bar behind walnut finish doors. With mirrored back panelling, atmosphere lighting, integrated refrigeration and copious storage for all your drinking needs, it’s the ideal gathering spot for guests. And when not in use, it can be neatly folded away behind its doors to blend in with the rest of the room.

The next125 Trolley is an even more compact solution. Portable, with clean contemporary lines, its shelves and neat compartments are perfectly sized for bottles, glasses and nibbles. Or anything else – be it craft station, reading table or even elaborate tea tray.

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3) Looking good, feeling festive

Once you’ve established the practical basics, it’s time to decorate your home. Whether you go for a kitsch, all-out look or have a more minimal style, it’s important to prioritise the memories you want to make.

How can you make festive decorating an event to remember? Maybe it’s inviting all your loved ones for an at-home Christmas tree switch-on. Maybe it’s the smell of mulled wine flooding the kitchen. Maybe it’s a wreath making workshop. Whatever your Christmas traditions, it’s likely that your interior design can be part of them. Follow tips for decking the halls, bannisters, living rooms, and anything else this Christmas:

Our festive interiors tips:

• Lighting makes all the difference. Candlelight is highly evocative and creates a cosy atmosphere. But avoid fire risks, and if in doubt, there are realistic LED alternatives!
• Decorate the overlooked areas to raise a smile. Mistletoe over the bathroom door? Tinsel on bedheads? There’s no such thing as too much, if that’s what you like.
• When it comes to colours, think about a colour hierarchy. Choose primary, secondary and tertiary colours that complement one another. Use Canva’s colour tool to find out what colours look good together.
• For a cheap and fabulous smelling decoration, dry orange slices and string them up to have the fresh orange scent throughout your house. Follow this how-to from BBC Good Food.

If you would like more personalised interior design advice – for the festive season and beyond – get in touch with us or pop into our Hexham showroom. Our team of expert interior designers will be happy to chat.