Metallics are almost as versatile as your favourite neutrals, but boy do they add some impact. Accessories in metallic shades are hugely popular and therefore easy to find - choose shimmering cushions and light fittings for an easy way to achieve opulence. If silver is your preferred metal, use grey as a base colour on walls - it's not a metallic, but it takes on that quality when combined with sheeny buys. Grey furniture is also the way to go - the plush sleigh bed and footstool are the perfect complement to this decadent look. Sparkly wallpaper is fabulous, too, and using symmetrically placed strips is an innovative way to create a feature that won't dominate.
1/10 Silver bedroom with upholstered sleigh bed
Similar bed
Made
Similar bedside tables
The French Bedroom Company
2/10 Kitchen with silver cupboard doors
Silvery cupboard doors aren't what you'd expect to see in a kitchen. Another set of blue doors would have worked perfectly well, but who wants to do what is expected? The metallic design propels this kitchen forward, giving it a futuristic vibe. This room also illustrates how a metallic can take on the quality of a neutral, perfectly complementing both the dark blue and the paler shades.
Similar bar stools
Ikea
3/10 Hallway with pretty metallic accessories
If you're afraid of creating a 'shouty' scheme, take a look at this hallway for a beautiful example of understated luxe. Combine grey walls, sumptuous fabrics and metallic accessories in a variety of colours, and that's exactly what you'll achieve. Bear in mind that metallics don't have to be confined to the usual silver, gold and bronze, but can also include other colours, such as the pink chair here.
Similar lamp
Occa-Home
Similar vases
House of Fraser
4/10 Bathroom with gold-leaf feature wall and red tiles
There is nothing 'blend into the background' about this bathroom, with its bold, gold-leaf wall and bright-red tiles. Make sure that any wall covering you choose will withstand the humid environment of a bathroom - glass tiles will work well, or you could even try a metallic paint, such as the one available at Crown. Consider lighting carefully, too, to really get the best of a sparkly feature.
Similar decorative glass tiles
Original Style
5/10 Living room with gold armchair and hexagonal wallpaper
Wow! This room is psychedelic. It's hard to know what came first - the hexagonal wallpaper or the gold chair, but it doesn't really matter, as they are the perfect partners. The chair picks out the gold tints in the wallpaper, creating a cool retro look that is truly individual. The shiny cushion adds to the 1970s disco style and we love how chevrons and a hexagon lamp have worked their way in, too.
Similar wallpaper
Fabrics & Papers
6/10 White bathroom with gold bathtub
Wouldn't you just feel like a queen if you had this tub to soak in after a long day? We know we would. You may have to look as far as North America to get hold of a gold bath, but the alternative is to buy a ready-primed one that can be painted any colour you like - CP Hart is worth a look. Gold taps on a similarly shaped white tub are another way to get in on the trend.
Similar bath
Cheviot Products
Similar taps
Victorian Plumbing
7/10 White office with gold desk
Liven up an all-white space with metallic accents. This Gabriella Crespi Z desk is an iconic design, as is the Gerrit Rietveld Zig-Zag chair, but even though the table isn't particularly easy to get hold of, this office clearly shows how gold can warm up a space. For a cost-effective way to replicate the look, try spray painting a wooden desk.
Zig-Zag chair
Nest
8/10 Metallic dining room with perforated table
If one or two accent pieces of furniture aren't enough for you, you might like this dining room, with its mostly gold-coloured furniture and accessories. White walls mean you can use as much or as little of this fabulous metallic as you like. The warm tones of wood also go well with gold, as demonstrated in this amazing perforated table.
Dining table
Jonathan Adler
9/10 Gold bedroom with black sleigh bed
This is hotel chic at its best, with all the comfortable cushions and sumptuous textiles. It's also a clever play on a traditional monochrome scheme, with gold taking the place of white and making the whole look a lot warmer than standard black and white. The textured wallpaper and patterned cushions keep things interesting, meaning this look is anything but flat.
Similar wallpaper
John Lewis
10/10 Oriental-style bathroom with copper bath
The bathtub here may be similar to the gold one we've already seen, but the scheme couldn't be more different. Rather than the bath being a highlight in a white space, oriental wall panels are the main feature and the copper colour of the bath blends in so that it doesn't draw too much attention to itself. Bamboo furniture and the temple jar keep the Eastern theme going.
Similar bath
Hurlingham The Bath Company
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