Gabrielle Fagan checks out our passion for plaid and the best ways to create a Highland fling

Scotland has been making its mark in the headlines lately - and there's a tartan army on the march in our homes, too.

Interior designers are determinedly wooing us over to Highland decor style, with its characteristic plaids, those classic patterns with their criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. The majority of the leading home collections feature, at the very least, a touch of tartan on furniture and accessories.

While the pattern can still be found in traditional guises, it's also been re-energised with fresh, modern colour palettes, making it suitable for any setting, whether you're aiming for the fashionable rustic hunting lodge, emulating a grand, period interior, or just fancy a cheeky nod to the current passion for plaid.

"An ideal antidote to dark evenings and chilly mornings, tartans have long been a firm autumn/winter favourite, and this season they're well and truly back in vogue," confirms Ian Bisatt, design director for furniture company, Multiyork.

"From classic Highland tartan, showcasing a traditional mix of blues, greens and reds, to bold blanket weaves in pretty pastel shades, the choice of styles has never been so wide-ranging.

"In part, the popularity of this heritage fabric can be linked to our renewed love-affair with traditional craftsmanship and natural materials, along with key seasonal trends, such as 'woodland' and 'country-style'."

Tartan upholstery once conjured images of fusty hotels full of gloomy wood panelling and dusty stag heads, but the modern take on the design is anything but drab, and can easily be given a starring role in contemporary, as well as traditional or period homes, to add richness and drama.

"A sofa or armchair in a rich plaid is the perfect way to introduce both pattern and colour into an interior scheme," suggests Bisatt.

"Plaid fabrics, which pick up on a room's existing palette, make for a beautifully classic look, or for a more muted effect, add decorative cushions or a cashmere tartan throw. Choose colours which lie opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as a dark blue and mustard yellow, for a stronger visual statement."

Work the Scottish lodge look with tartan fabric upholstery and faux animal trophies, or opt for a more eclectic approach, using accessories to liven up a scheme.

So join the clan, and declare you're mad for plaid.

RED MIST

Traditional red plaid packs a mighty punch and is particularly appropriate at for the approaching festive season, conjuring a nostalgic and cosy atmosphere.

"Tartan is enduringly popular," says Alison Cork, founder of online interiors company, Alison At Home.

"Plaid designs communicate a sense of heritage and a dash of sartorial style. Colourful, tactile and incredibly versatile, it's as relevant for homes now as it has ever been. This classic pattern can instantly make a room look smarter, and red shades and patterns are well suited to dining rooms, where the colour helps stimulate the appetite and socialising."

DECOR TIP: Vibrant, busy patterns need a calm backdrop, but if neutral tones are too safe for your taste, deep greens make a good choice for contrast.

TARTAN TOUCHES: Bring a wall alive with a Fairburn wallpaper, £16.99 a roll, that's a twist on the traditional tartan and is in the appropriately named Lochs And Lagoons collection at Arthouse. A matching Fairburn Red Studded Screen, £75.

Make a big impression with statement pieces of furniture in check or plaid. Multiyork has a particularly handsome, extra-large Osborne Sofa, which can be upholstered in Abraham Moon Fernie Red, £3,359. If that stretches the budget, Next has joined the tartan bandwagon with a Sherlock Chair, £450, and Footstool, £119, in Stirling Red. Accessorise with its Lambswool Rich Rustic Check Throw, £45.

A Laird Tartan Roller Blind, from £119, Digetex Home, could brighten a dull hall or give a lift to a spare room.

TARTAN TREATS: Splurge: Pheasant Feather Tartan Lampshade, from £54, Meltons. Save: George Home Highland Check Brushed Duvet Set, from £15, available online and also from Asda stores.

TARTAN TEASER

If all that rich colour and pattern has you running for the hills - or the Highlands - there's a solution - simply flirt with this look. Opt for a combination of a neutral colour palette, fine checks and less vibrant tartans.

"Traditional heritage fabrics feature in the top autumn collections, and tartan's leading the way as one of the hottest textiles around," says Kate Mooney, founder of Occa-Home.

"Tartans needn't be garish, and you can subtly hint at the look with checks in soft browns and greys, mossy greens or washed-out blues."

DECOR TIP: Pair tartan with herringbone, tweed and houndstooth designs for a look that really embraces heritage style.

TARTAN TOUCHES: Roll out the plaid carpet to instantly drench a room in colour and add warmth. Carpet specialist Brintons' Abbeyglen collection features traditional Irish plaids with a rustic feel. Cavan Plaid Carpet, £80 per sq metre.

Supermarket style's so trend-sensitive nowadays that it's one of the first ports of call for brilliant pieces that don't break the bank. Tesco's Byron Occasional Chair in an understated Ecru Check, £299, and matching Footstool, £99, proves the point (available from mid-October).

While mixing patterns isn't easy, Sofa Workshop's successfully done just that on a Lady May Three-seater Sofa, £2,149, which can be dressed with the tartan Moon Skye Sea and Skye, with a plain Glamis Topaz (available to order from stores). Accessorise with cushions, such as Very's Orkney Check Chenille offering, £12.

TARTAN TREATS: Splurge: Stag Duvet Cover Set, £20-£37, Littlewoods, sports stag heads on one side and checks on the reverse. Save: George Home 16-piece Check Cutlery Set, £6, available online from George Home and also from Asda stores.

PLAID PERFECT

Bring on the green and blue plaids for rich, elegant decor much favoured by designers including Ralph Lauren, and evocative of the rousing shades of a Highland landscape.

"Tartan's one of the most enduring textile trends. In fact I would go as far as to say that it is rarely out of fashion," says Catharine Denham, head of design for BHS.

"Over the years, the pattern has featured cyclically over the decades, most recently in the Seventies, through to being picked up by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood in the Eighties, and part of the grunge trend in the Nineties.

"Tartan's timeless appeal, together with the comprehensive range of fibres, varying scales and colour palettes, makes it suitable for virtually any interior scheme."

DECOR TIP: For a contemporary take, play with varying scales and complexities of different patterns, but ensure colour shades harmonise.

TARTAN TOUCHES: Tartan wallpaper adds a grand air to the most ordinary of rooms, and an Edinburgh Tartan Wallpaper Mural, £79, Digetex Home, could suit a feature wall or add drama to alcoves.

Pull up a plaid pew! Choose from BHS' Chestnut Wing Armchair, £749, or online company Alison At Home's Foxwood Occasional Armchair, £695, in Chatsworth Tartan.

TARTAN TREATS: Splurge: Jean Paul Gaultier Twiggy Cushion, £88.50, Lux Deco. Save: Dickins & Jones Blue Check Mug, £6, House of Fraser.