I confess: I’m a closet bling lover. I can’t help myself, I am seriously attracted to things that shimmer and sparkle. Until now, I have had to assuage my yearnings with a few trinket, but suddenly – to my husband’s horror – I can extend the habit to all things home-related.

Precious-metal finishes have been bubbling under for a while now in the world of haute design, but you know a trend is of the moment when the high street gets in on the act. Witness this rather elegant lustre vase, designed by Kelly Hoppen for her latest Bhs collection ( £20).

And I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw a display of all 22 permutations of de Gournay’s fabulous silver- and gold-leaf wallpapers (from £74 per square metre; www.degournay.com). I am currently fantasising about papering my bedroom with them – how divinely decadent can you get? Antartidee’s Splash mirror (£87, from www.glimpseonline.com), a witty take on molten metal, is showcased on a new web venture, Glimpseonline, which acts as the middleman between a select bunch of designers and artists and the purchasing public, who otherwise might not get to buy their work.

Knoll has also brought out the Tulip collection by Eero Saarinen in a platinum finish – instantly updating this mid-20th-century classic, 50 years after it was first produced (from £795, for the coffee table, from www.aram.co.uk). And the 24-carat gold-leaf and lacquered Gold chair, by the Swedish company Bla Station, could have been made to measure for Midas – with an appropriately princely price tag (£3,667, to order, from www.informfurniture.co.uk).

The play on the bling thing often looks its subtle best when it is used on tactile products, and this silver Crystal Pleat cushion ( £45, from www.thelondoncushioncompany.co.uk) shows why: it is sexily strokeable, yet totally glamorous. All that glisters may not be gold, but a few luxe pieces will make your home look bang on the money.

Art felt

I ended up owning my first piece of proper art when I used the money I had saved to put a new MFI kitchen in my first flat to buy a Bridget Riley screen print instead. The print is still with me and still looks gorgeous. The flat is long gone and I am so glad I spent the money the way I did.

The pictures you like are as much an indicator of your personal style as any piece of furniture. But if you are unsure about art, where is the best place to start? Mark Wilson, the owner of the Cross Street Gallery, has an affordable range of work from some of the best British artists of the past 60 years, including Patrick Heron, Patrick Caulfield, Peter Blake and Bridget Riley (her Nineteen Greys, B, 1968, is one of the most expensive prints for sale, at £8,000). You can browse the collection at leisure at www.artforsale.co.uk. Whatever takes your fancy, just remember to follow the golden rule for buying art: it doesn’t matter who the work is by, invest only if you really love it.

Cross Street Gallery, 40 Cross Street, N1; 020 7226 8600

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