Trendspotting: Shake up the season's traditional colour palette

So much has been written in recent weeks about this year's Christmas essentials: the dresses, the most desired gifts and, of course, the most on-trend decorating and table setting styles.

For as long as anyone can remember, red and green have been synonymous with a traditional Christmas decorating scheme. And although I love this palette, too, as a trend forecaster I am aware of the influence the fashion industry has on interiors.

About five years ago, product manufacturers and retailers started to take an interest in providing their customers with a more contemporary Christmas decorating aesthetic to complement modern room schemes. They wanted to link their Christmas product offerings with the home trends of the moment. Retailers rightly observed that red and green Christmas decorations do not easily complement most people's interior decor. Unless you have a predominantly white or cream living area, you are going to struggle to make red and green work with the rest of your scheme. The colours can jar and look disconnected.

Decorations and tableware that move beyond the clichéd Christmas colours are increasingly available, and I would encourage everyone to consider using a decorative colour theme this year that is visually connected to their interior decor. For instance, bright, colour-blocking has been moving from catwalks to home decorating products in recent seasons. So if you have used hot pinks, electric purples or burnt orange in your rooms, why not find Christmas decorations to match?

The living room set pictured here is a wonderful example of how to make bright colours work together to produce a cheerful and well balanced festive theme: bright, bold gift wrapping, oversized baubles, mono-coloured mini trees and stylised metal antlers unite to give an unexpected and modern aesthetic, which all coordinate with the colour-blocked retro furniture and striking Kaleidoscope 2 rug by Sonya Winner.

At the other end of the colour spectrum, don't discount the stylish effectiveness of black as a Christmas decorating theme. Sultry black lace is dominating many clothing stores, and the colour adds glamour and ladylike sophistication to interiors. Why not use black lace for your tablecloth and fill glass bowls with rich purple jewel-toned baubles and copper or pewter accents (rather than gold or silver) for an unusual seasonal shimmer?

Victoria Redshaw is the managing director of Scarlet Opus. For more information visit www.trendsblog.co.uk or www.scarletopus.com. For more on the Kaleidoscope 2 rug and Sonya Winner visit, www.sonyawinner.com