Simple SETTINGS CROWD-PLEASING PLATTER

Create an elegant yet informal dining area by combining natural striped linens with a striking floral centrepiece. Add twinkling tealights in brass dishes, pine cones and quirky pomegranate ‘place settings’.

Walls and fireplace painted in Cornforth White No.228 estate emulsion, £49.50/2.5L, Farrow & Ball. Oak and jute chairs, £525/pair, Cox & Cox. Natural stripe linen tablecloth, from £105, Nordic House. Dinner plates, £59/four; small plates, £51/four: all Far & Away. Pink water glasses, £34/six, Greige. Red stripe linen cotton napkins, £4.99 each, Linenme. Low elm handmade cake stand, £70, Selwyn House. Green glass vase, £25; vintage cutlery, £2 (per piece), Snoopers Paradise. Recycled glass stemmed vases in amber, lilac and moss, £14.99 (small), £22.99 (large); metal tealight holders, £24.99/six: all Smith & The Magpie. Vintage Ercol Windsor chair, £175, Simply Ercol

Style a plate of festive fruits, quince jam, cheeses, crispbreads and crackers on a handcrafted artisan board so guests can help themselves.

Handmade English oak grazing board, £120, Selwyn House. Natural stripe linen tablecloth, from £105; napkins, £24/pair: all Nordic House. Red stripe linen napkins, £4.99 each, Linenme, Plates and cutlery, as before

FORAGED FINDS

Gather foliage from your garden – from dried bracken and seed heads to teasels and ivy – and combine to make festive arrangements or wreaths. Or you can use them to add a decorative signature to your wrapped presents.

A TOUCH OF GLASS

Classic diamond-cut tumblers, artfully arranged on a wooden chopping board with a jar candle, are an eye-catching sight on a corner table.

Curtains made from Quartz Velvet parchment, £129/m, Zoffany. Highclere tumbler glasses, £50/two, Royal Doulton. Arran Single Malt Sherry Cask Scotch Whisky, £55/700ml, Arran. Handmade round oak chopping block, £65, Selwyn House. Cranberry and ginger jar candle, £10, Shearer Candles. Vintage Seventies Onyx marble goblets, £40/six, ebay. Green dish, £6, Snoopers Paradise