Take your golden opportunity

Staying in to avoid expensive bars, interiors lovers want their living spaces to feel luxurious and atmospheric and are going for bejewelled and metallic wallpapers, lustrous fabrics, gilded furniture, and catch-the-light accessories.

"While people may not be spending as much, they certainly aren't skimping on effect," agrees Melanie Adams, wallcoverings manager at WallpaperDirect. "Increasingly, they're taking inspiration from their jewellery boxes and wardrobes and opting for wallpapers that are full-on with the glitter and glamour. Metallics are undoubtedly the big news for 2010 as they add instant richness. Even a single wall papered

in a striking design can have incredible impact and improve the feelgood factor in an otherwise dull room."

And not for nothing is this look dubbed "metallic magic" because, as Melanie points out, the reflective properties of metallic papers and paints work in a similar way to mirrors by making small spaces seem larger, and helping them burst into life under artificial light.

Designer Linda Barker applauds the trend. "A touch of bling is the way to make our homes shine – literally – and currently it seems that everyone's seeking a bit of good old-fashioned razzle-dazzle and glitz," she says.

She advises those who want glitteringly successful rooms to follow the "less is more" rule, so that the end result is decadent and dramatic rather than bold and brassy. "Apart from that, there are no hard and fast rules," enthuses the star of BBC's Changing Rooms and ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! "You can opt for a futuristic approach with silver and steel and minimal furnishings, or echo the 1970s with zingy colours like oranges and greens in metallic

finishes and retro white furniture," says Linda.

"Alternatively, there's the opulent route which embraces vintage and uses gold and gilt teamed with tactile, touch-me fabrics such as velvet and silks."

So rustle through the glad-rags in your wardrobe for inspiration and join the glitterati gang. Melanie's choices are Osborne & Little's Rombico paper from Teatro, 74 a roll and Vibrance by Kandola, 179 a roll. Both papers are from WallpaperDirect, which has 5,000 different designs and papers.

Graham & Brown's wallpaper selection includes a richly patterned Desire, available in gold, from its Spirit collection, and designer, Barbara Hulanicki's silvery Diva. Both are 30 a roll. For luxury looks, dress windows in beautiful fabrics – silks, velvets and taffetas in metallic shades – which will hint at Hollywood-style glamour. "We've been inspired by catwalk fashion for our new metallic Silks collection, and feature the fabric in sophisticated silvers, pewter and platinum," says Jo Cassabois, founder of Pret A Vivre, bespoke curtain and blind experts. "Metallics are a wonderful springboard because they complement such a wide palette of colours. Our silver, pewter and platinum colourways can be teamed with aubergine or maroon for warmth or work well with on-trend sorbet shades such as pistachio greens, duck-egg blues, pinks and yellows."

Small is beautiful, as the saying goes, but one of the best ways to indulge in this look is to be bold with statement, opulent pieces. Victoria Wright, style adviser at HomeSense says: "After the over-zealous ghetto bling of the 1990s, it's understandable that home owners are slightly nervous of going overboard for glitz and glitter in their homes.

"But standalone individual items will have impact. Don't limit yourself on shades, think copper, bronze, muted gold and champagne and mix contemporary with vintage for an up-to-date take."

Painting walls or furniture, in metallic paint cheaply transform both spaces and pieces, says Charlotte Boyd, style editor of House Beautiful magazine.

"This is amazingly effective and easy to do. Jalpac by International is an aerosol paint suitable for wood and metal and available in a range of silver and gold shades," she says. "Try giving an old dark wood console table a metallic update to really add wow factor to a hallway."

Get in on the metallic-act with gold and silver accessories which will give rooms an instant injection of glamour. "It's easy to overdo metallics," warns Charlotte Boyd.

"But I think this look work just as well used in accent colours. Add a few gold or silver sequinned cushions to a sofa or bed, or perhaps group a collection of vases in different shades in front of a gold mirror to make a feature."