Damien Hirst merchandise, from a deckchair to a plastic skull, is on sale for eye-watering price tags of up to £36,800 at the first UK retrospective of the controversial British artist.

From today members of the public will be able to glimpse five of the most famous dresses worn by Princess Diana on display at the newly reopened Kensington Palace.

A collection of rare film posters has fetched a total of $503,000 (£320,000) at an auction in Texas.

This small, sleek retreat matches the colour and charm of its idyllic location, says Sue Watt

Spring is finally on its way. The mercury is rising, the days are getting longer and the daffodils are peeking through. This is traditionally the season for giving your house a refresh – a big clean up and a budget-conscious interiors update will help banish the winter blues. It's time to mothball the woollen throws, winter bedding and heavy curtains and introduce some brighter fabrics and colours.

Seeing spots from the mind of Yayoi Kusama is not always a pleasant experience. An artist from Japan, now in her 80s, Kusama made her name in New York in the 1950s and 60s, in an artworld dominated by abstract expressionism, predominantly made by men.

1. Purgatory colorado print

Think you can't afford to give your home the update it needs? Think again, says Selina Lake.

1. Indigo Lace Drum Lampshade

1. Gothic Chair

Take down the tinsel, unplug the lights, remove that life-size glowing reindeer from the roof: Christmas has been called off. I know this because there's no sign of it on Radio 4, and I think we can all agree that if it's not on Radio 4 – the voice of authority, the land of all that is decent and true – then it probably isn't happening at all.

Feast your eyes on part one of our ultimate Christmas gift guide: this week, terrific toys for boys and girls, foodie treats, addictive gadgets, literary treasures and much more…

The most obtrusive – and the most questionable – feature of Howard Davies's revival of Juno and the Paycock is the monumental design by Bob Crowley. Set in 1922 during the bitter civil war between the Free-Staters and the Die-hard Republicans, Sean O'Casey's gutting tragicomedy shows us the Boyle family disintegrating through internal and external pressures as they struggle to survive in their two-room Dublin tenement.