COME ALL YOU FAITHFULS

Festive traditions, fashionable decor and all the family gathered makes Christmas a joy for Francesca Rowan-Plowden – interior designer, TV presenter and a star of The Traitors earlier this year

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The best bit at Christmas is having everybody together. As we are a big blended family with lots of children and a large house, we normally do the hosting. My parents join me, my husband Dave, my four sons, Dave's two children, and Dave's mother and sister's family. And because it is amicable between me and the boys' dad, he comes along, too. There can be as many as 15 of us, plus the dogs, and it's a fantastic medley of people, which is fun.

We moved here two and a half years ago. The house is 25 years old and was adapted from a smaller cottage by the previous owners. The moment I walked up to it and saw the veranda and the kitchen, I knew it was the house for us. The interiors were quite modern, but I knew I could transform them with colour, pattern and texture to get more of a welcoming, country-house feel.

There are lots of pinks and greens, which really come into their own at Christmastime; the warm tones are wonderful in candlelight. Growing up, I used to visit National Trust properties with my granny, and I was a tenant of the National Trust's Lamb House in Rye for 10 years, so I'm drawn to that classic English look.