Nothing beats the sumptuous feel and warmth of velvet and it’s no surprise that designers are returning to it as a welcome relief from years of pared-back minimalism. It’s a fabric for living rooms and bedrooms, where its texture has the effect of transforming colours into jewel like tones.

This season, less is definitely more, and the key to working the velvet trend is picking your strategy with care. Use it on one central piece or select a few accents to retain a sense of balance.

With its wide range of colours, you can’t beat the Tamara kingsize bed for an update to your bedroom – choose the shade that’s right for you and set it against plain and printed silk bedding to highlight the textures. For an even more comfortable night’s sleep, an electrically powered adjustable version of the Tamara is also available.

If your budget’s better suited to accent pieces use your bedding as inspiration: pick velvet cushions in two or three contrasting colours and pile them up for an inviting look. You could use the same technique downstairs on the couch or go all out for the Isabelle 3-seater sofa in the Harlequin range. With velvet working as a laid-back, luxury centrepiece, it’s easy to vamp it up or tone it down by switching around cushion covers through the seasons.

Drop arms give a sofa a slightly more formal feel that works well on over-sized or petite-scaled pieces that make the most of velvet’s slightly grand feel. Try something like this Knowle 4-seater if you’re going large, or add an accent with an oversized armchair like this Jasper loveseat.

Whatever you do, have fun playing with contrasts of colour and texture to offset your velvet – think muted metallic vases and candlesticks for an understated modern take on an old medieval favourite.