The Country Life Top 100 architects, interior designers, garden designers, landscape designers and country house specialists in Britain

It's nine years since the original Country Life Top 100 was published, but the aim hasn't changed: we name the very best architects, interior designers, craftsmen, builders and garden designers in Britain.

The garden in the Kent North Downs at the home of designer Graham Lloyd-Brunt, whose projects currently include a 14th-century château in France and a Scottish estate with an 18th-century walled garden — Country Life Top 100 2026
The garden in the Kent North Downs at the home of designer Graham Lloyd-Brunt, whose projects currently include a 14th-century château in France and a Scottish estate with an 18th-century walled garden. Graham is featured in the Country Life Top 100 2026.
(Image credit: Jason Ingram / Lloyd-Brunt Outdoor Designs)

The country house aesthetic constantly evolves — and with it, so does the Country Life Top 100. 2026 has seen a swathe of new entries in the craftspeople and country house specialists section — and you can see all the new entries here.

No selection can ever be entirely definitive, but those featured on these pages bring to their work a spirit of innovation and professionalism that is a vital resource to anyone planning to build, restore or beautify a country home.

How we choose the Country Life Top 100

Giles Kime joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast to talk about the 2026 list. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts, or the audio is available here:

The best country house architects in Britain

house

(Image credit: Ian Adam-Smith)

The best interior designers in Britain

Sims Hilditch design

(Image credit: Sims Hilditch)

The best country house specialists, builders and craftspeople in Britain

country house

The best craftspeople, builders and country house specialists are worth their weight in gold.

(Image credit: ZOTA)

The best garden designers and landscape designers in Britain

Angus Thompson garden

(Image credit: Claire Takacs / Angus Thompson)

Giles Kime is Country Life's Executive and Interiors Editor, an expert in interior design with decades of experience since starting his career at The World of Interiors magazine. Giles joined Country Life in 2016, introducing new weekly interiors features, bridging the gap between our coverage of architecture and gardening. He previously launched a design section in The Telegraph and spent over a decade at Homes & Gardens magazine (launched by Country Life's founder Edward Hudson in 1919). A regular host of events at London Craft Week, Focus, Decorex and the V&A, he has interviewed leading design figures, including Kit Kemp, Tricia Guild, Mary Fox Linton, Chester Jones, Barbara Barry and Lord Snowdon. He has written a number of books on interior design, property and wine, the most recent of which is on the legendary interior designer Nina Campbell who last year celebrated her fiftieth year in business. This Autumn sees the publication of his book on the work of the interior designer, Emma Sims-Hilditch. He has also written widely on wine and at 26, was the youngest ever editor of Decanter Magazine. Having spent ten years restoring an Arts & Crafts house on the banks of the Itchen, he and his wife, Kate, are breathing life into a 16th-century cottage near Alresford that has remained untouched for almost half a century.