Bright ideas
Siobhan Murphy’s spectacular home in Castleford stars in this weekend’s Yorkshire Post magazine.
Here, the BBC2 Interior Design Masters finalist also gives us some tips on maximalist Christmas decorating and present wrapping.
■ Get a pre-lit tree. It’s so much quicker and easier and less stressful than trying to untangle strings of fairy lights. If you want to use a separate string of lights, then put them on the tree first before anything else.
■ When trimming up the tree, start with the big pieces first. I push my tinsel right to the back of the branches to fill any gaps, then I start hanging the biggest baubles. I then fill in with smaller decorations, spreading them out evenly on the tree. The key is not to be too precious. I then put my extra special decorations on at the end so they are centre stage.
■ I like to spend time wrapping presents beautifully, even if they are small and haven’t cost much. I think taking time and care over wrapping shows a lot of love and the person receiving the present notices because they can see you’ve made a big effort. It makes it all more meaningful.
■ I use lots of ribbon bought from Castleford Market and sometimes I add in feathers for a bit of flamboyance.