Staying In

Give Your Mantelpiece A Makeover

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - especially at home, where festive decorating is in full swing. And while some people have their sights set on the tree, for others, it's the mantel taking centre stage this season. Lined with boughs of holly, ribbons and stockings, a Christmas mantelpiece shows just why we consider the hearth the heart of the home. 'It sets the scene by offering a place of warmth and a feeling of comfort,' says Hannah Bryce, grower and floral designer at Minnow and Wolf. Her top tips this season include digging around the garden for foliage and natural flourishes, and igniting all the senses with a handful of dried orange slices, berries or clusters of cinnamon sticks. 'I love to add foraged foliage, colourful ribbons and candles,' she tells C&TH. 'Dried orange slices wired or strung together into a garland also look really pretty draped over the top of your mantelpiece.' You can find plenty of festive mantelpiece inspiration (as well as top decorating tips from the experts) in our handy guide.

Going Out

Try Clare Smyth's New Restaurant Corenucopia

Clare Smyth's Chelsea bistro has officially opened its doors, and it offers style and substance in spades. Smyth likens the new site - in comparison to her three-starred Core in Notting Hill - as McQueen's RTW versus couture lines. Both restaurants, she says, cover the same ingredients and handle the same covers a night (54) but Corenucopia has a streamlined menu of the best of British that can be made quickly and simply. And, of course, to the same standard: Smyth took C&TH behind the pass to showcase her craft. For starters, you can expect perfectly seared scallops in a Cornish grapefruit beurre blanc, and for mains a whopper slice of Cumberland sausage and black pudding toad in the hole, soaked in pork and pickle gravy. For the former, her secret to the perfect sear, she claims, is equipment from HexClad. To boot, the restaurant, which has been designed by Fabled Studios, is ever so chic (the McQueen likening is apt). There are two main dining spaces: a light, airy reception, and a library-style private room downstairs, within which Samsung The Frame TVs display a stream of paintings - and, for big sporting fixtures, will become the site of thrilling watch parties.

Property Of The Day

Looming large over Buckingham Palace, The Broadway is the perfect spot for people who love a nosey. Its 258 apartments might be the perfect spot for the ultimate game of eye-spy, with nearly every major landmark on view from its windows. Interestingly, it's located on the former site of New Scotland Yard (no wonder those coppers wanted a spot so deep in the heart of London).

Find out more at thebroadway.co.uk

Little Luxury

MATILDE is marking its fifth anniversary with a limited-edition collection, Five Stones. This necklace features a lab-grown diamond cut, rested on a dainty recycled gold cable chain - designed to be timeless and worn forever (£1,285).

Competition Time

Win a two-night stay at Norton Park Hotel, Spa & Manor House, including a three-course dinner, spa treatments and afternoon tea.

Psssst...

A wild beaver has been spotted at a nature reserve in Norfolk, for the first time in 500 years. Beavers became extinct in the 1500s, but scientists have been reintroducing them to the UK over the last decade.

Whatever You Do, Don't

Throw away the skins when making roast potatoes, says chef Jack Stein. 'My top tip for delicious roast potatoes is to add the peel to the water as you boil them, as the skin carries so much flavour that shouldn't be wasted. Get the water boiling before adding the skins, then boil for 15-20 mins with plenty of salt. Gently strain the potatoes before adding to a pre-heated pan with vegetable oil.'