Redesigning, redecorating or just adding a touch of glamour to your living room? Gold – in accessories, wallpaper, flooring and even lighting – is the must-have metallic. Here’s how and where to use it to create a finish that’s subtly stylish.

It makes walls gleam

Why use gold or any metallic on a wall? It reflects and catches the light, which makes it perfect for a light-starved space. It can even make a small room feel larger. You needn’t commit to putting it on an entire wall – finding a painting flecked with gold or simply framing a length of gold wallpaper or wrapping paper can create a massive impact.

It works in small doses

Unless you’re going for full-on opulence, gold usually works best in small, subtle doses. So, if you’ve hung pictures with gold in them, add just a couple more dashes of gold to give the scheme unity – but stop there. Gold is a good choice for the interior of a lamp, like this one, too. It’s a nice surprise unlit, but at night will help make this otherwise white room glow.

It’s not as showy as you think

For an on-trend look, search for an aged, antiqued or warm yellow gold that’s dull or matt in finish. Anything too bright, shiny or brassy will be hard to comfortably match with jewel tones, seen here. What about mixing and matching gold with other metallics, such as silver, copper, bronze or brass?

However, there are some situations in which a larger dose can look fabulous, for example the sofas here.

It makes a great focal point

Hanging a gold-framed mirror is a classic way to add opulence to a room – but you need to allow it to be the focus of the scheme rather than have it fight for attention, or its effect will be lost. That means adding a scattering of gold here and there in the room, and keeping everything else understated.