Amanda Holden's decorating tips for a cosy, happy home

Amanda Holden has found an outlet for her love of interiors through her homeware collaboration with QVC, called BundleBerry, which is now in its third season. She lives in Richmond, London, with her husband, musician Chris Hughes, daughters, Lexi, 12, and Hollie, six, and their cat and two dogs.

See inside her lovely home: Amanda Holden invites fans behind the scenes of her stylish Surrey home

'Our home is a detached Thirties house,' she tells us. 'It has two large extensions, top and bottom, with five bedrooms for us, our girls and visitors. It’s very open and modern downstairs, with great 
flow and loads of light. All the rooms just roll into each other, which is fantastic in summer. But we can also close rooms off in winter, for 
a more snug and cosy feel.'

Amanda Holden's decorating tips

1. If at first you don't succeed, get the paint brush out!

'It’s taken a few makeovers to 
get our bedroom right. It’s very hotel-like now, which was the original aim. When we first moved in, it was painted a stark white, which felt very clinical, so we painted it all green – which looked awful. It felt like living in a hobbit hole! So we re-did the whole thing again in a softer white, added a circular drop light in the highest part of the room and grey silk curtains.'

'When you are testing out new paint shades, it's really important to always paint a large patch on your walls. The light levels at different times of day can completely change the colour and will show you if you can live happily with it.'

2. Use colour and furniture to zone a larger space

'We used wallpaper on two walls in the sitting room. As it’s such a huge, open space, it really helped to bring the walls in. We chose a bold, yellow and grey geometric pattern from Cole & Son, and the other two walls are painted in Lamp Room Gray by Farrow & Ball. We’ve split the room up into an informal family space, which has a gorgeous navy velvet sofa from Loaf that you can just throw yourself on to, and another more formal part that we use for meetings and reading. It has two studded pale grey sofas from Sweetpea & Willow and a cute armchair from Graham & Green that has pink, yellow and grey buttons.'

Buy now: Slowcoach Sofa in Liquorice Blue Clever Velvet, £2,145, Loaf

3. Find inspiration at your favourite restaurants and bars

'Our ‘bar’ room is where the parties start! It’s decorated in the style of the Dean Street Townhouse in London’s Soho and has a baby grand piano – we have some talented friends! The back wall is covered in distressed mirrors and the others are painted in a deep blue colour called Gentleman’s Gray by Benjamin Moore Paints. We have matching dark blue silk curtains for winter parties and in summer we throw open the bifold doors so people can spill out onto the decking. These days, Chris and I prefer being in and entertaining far more than going out.'

Buy now: BundleBerry by Amanda Holden String chairs, £65 each, QVC
Buy now: BundleBerry by Amanda Holden Wooden Cocktail Chest, £249, QVC

4. Great storage is a must for 
any family

'We have three grey BundleBerry trunks under the TV in the kitchen to hold all the children’s notebooks and colouring pens, and one for the dog’s bits and bobs. The kitchen is where we spend most of our time. I hankered after the dining table for years. It’s from Burford Garden Centre, made from wood from Indonesian boats in distressed blue, white and pale green shades.'

Buy now: BundleBerry by Amanda Holden Set of 3 Nesting Metal Storage Trunks, £108, QVC

5. Allow the look of your home to evolve

'My decorating style has changed over the years. I’ve learnt a lot from my travels and understand how colours and textures work a lot better now. When I have a project on the go, I’ll go to bed thinking of layouts and ideas. I have more pictures on my phone of my interiors and ideas than I do of my girls!'