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'We did that London thing of going "wow, look at how much house we can get for our money"': India Knight on her first house in the countryThe writer India Knight swapped city life for rural Suffolk a decade ago — and has never looked back.
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How to rebuild an old house and make it a modern marvel, using most of its original materialsThis sitting room in a newly built house on Exmoor has been lent a timeless feel by a fossil-stone fireplace.
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One Palace Green: Returning style and splendour to a monument of the Arts-and-Crafts MovementThe redevelopment of this iconic London property intrigues Arabella Youens.
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Future-proofing, preservation and a break with formality: Reinventing the English country houseA new generation of country house owners means changing tastes. Arabella Youens finds out what really matters to a younger cohort of homeowner.
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The art of renovating a house so beautifully, you'd never know it was rentedInterior-design practice Blyth-Collinson has brought a distinctive look to a rented house in Oxfordshire.
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How this apartment in the historic heart of London went from underwhelming white box to somewhere with comfort, character and sense of placeCarefully conceived joinery and a collection of artwork and ceramics have transformed this London pied-à-terre.
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How to introduce colour and comfort to a traditional farmhouseBryony Richardson talks to Arabella Youens about her recent project in the Channel Islands.
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'Their place in the hierarchy of a house has risen from faithful and obedient servant to kingpin': Grand Designs for your dogInteriors are evolving to accommodate the new roaming rights afforded to our four-legged friends.
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The Nottingham kitchen that honours a home's remarkable 19th century residentThe owner of this former lacemaker’s house in Nottinghamshire enlisted the help of the team at deVOL.
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'I sent my husband to buy a dining table. He came back with a vast statue of a lady on a horse': Oka founder Sue Jones on her first house in the countrySue Jones, co-founder of the hugely successful interiors company Oka, on her beautifully secluded house in the country.
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The greatest craftspeople in Britain, as chosen by the nation's best interior designers, architects and country house expertsCountry Life's 2026 list of experts' experts is an incredible collection of talent. Here are the craftspeople cited by our panellists.
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How to design a dining room you actually want to spend time inThe drawing room in a house in Oxfordshire had been converted into an open-plan kitchen and dining room.
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How to make a very new extension feel like part of a very old houseA calming palette ensures a new extension by Osborn Interiors blends seamlessly with the Cotswolds cottage it has transformed.
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'It's extremely reassuring for the ultra-wealthy': How Monaco's resurgence is fuelling a new property boomAmid the turmoil in today's the world, Monaco has remained quietly unchanged — and well-heeled families are heading back, creating a new surge of growth. Arabella Youens reports.
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How to refresh a room without sacrificing your existing furnitureStudio Squire has given a fresh look to this sitting room overlooking a leafy London square.
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'She said it was the most haunted place she had known and asked if we’d seen all the ghosts': Alexander Armstrong on his first house in the countryThe actor and comedian Alexander Armstrong fondly remembers his first house in the country, in an Oxfordshire village.
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'It felt like a private kingdom... the perfect house for our family': James Holland on his first house in the countryThe author and historian James Holland came across his first country home in time-honoured fashion: by seeing a 'for sale' sign as he drove through a picture-postcard village.
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Timeless, sustainable, and with understated style: Why go to Carrara when you can shop British stone?The time for pearly white surfaces is over, let’s make room for more interesting home-grown limestones in pinks, browns and greys, says Arabella Youens.
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London’s only 2026 super prime development is fit for a king — and more than 100 horsesThe former home of The King’s Troop and one of the capital’s most visible ceremonial military bases is being turned into a new top-end residential neighbourhood. Arabella Youens puts on a hard hat for an early visit.
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'It was grand, untouched and cheap — too tempting to ignore': Isabel Bannerman on her (rather amazing) first house in the countryThe gardener and writer Isabel Bannerman went in at the deep end with her first country house: a 300-year-old, Grade I-listed Baroque mansion that was falling to pieces.
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What is the secret to choosing colours that are sympathetic to the past?Natural-paint manufacturer Edward Bulmer has teamed up with Laura Cavendish, Countess of Burlington, to produce 24 new colours inspired by Chatsworth House.
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How the founders of Weaver Green turned a Victorian cricket pavilion into the perfect off-grid escapeThis restored cricket pavilion is the perfect escape from the demands of busy lives, finds Arabella Youens. Photographs by Simon Brown.
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How retrofitting your country house could save you more than £50,000 a year — even if it’s listedMaking historic homes warmer and more energy-efficient to run has its challenges, but the emergence of super-efficient heat pumps has opened up exciting opportunities.
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The revival of interest in folk art is fueling a new fascination with the art of decorating wagonsThree devotees share their enthusiasm with Arabella Youens.
