Create a pretty dining room

If you've got friends or family over for dinner make sure it's an event to remember ' regardless of the food you're serving. So, even if it's a selection of cook-chill supermarket meals or a Chinese take out, serve it in good-looking crockery.

Pretty china, glassware and cutlery is much more affordable than it ever used to be, so make sure your china cupboard and cutlery drawers have all the right things in them.

Coloured glassware instantly adds a 'wow' factor to a cocktail party or intimate get together. Afternoon tea is loving its resurgence and there are now prettily decorated china tea cups and tea plates in all the main stores.

This lovely black and white china is a new addition to my catalogue, and our black glassware complements it perfectly. I'd use the traditionally-shaped black glass for red wine and the black-stemmed glasses for white wine.

We take a look around Linda's home and get an exclusive insight into her interior design techniques

Create the perfect bedroom

The good news is that we seem to be dressing up our bedrooms with more of a flourish these days. Gone are the times when a quick shake of the duvet would suffice.

In my bedrooms, I tend to opt for a slightly lighter weight duvet than usual so that I can dress the bed with a quilted bedspread or a luxurious throw folded neatly at the base of the bed. Pillows are stacked neatly, one directly on top of the other. A regular housewife's pillowcase for the bottom pillows and an Oxford case on the top ones. To finish off, I arrange plenty of pretty cushions in front of the pillows for indulgent lounging. And a spritz of linen spray is an indulgent treat! Sink in and relax in your bathroom

White is no longer the be all and end all for bathroom suites. Dark woods adds a luxurious feel to a bathroom and wood materials are ever more practical in a wet bathroom area because of the high quality new products that are designed to protect and seal more vulnerable surfaces.

Wooden baths and wooden sinks are now making a more affordable appearance in some of the specialist bathroom suppliers, while counter top sinks and even coloured sinks are creeping back too. I'm not saying you should get ready for the avocado suite just yet, but you never know!