In recent months, reports of work at Tottenham House and Conholt Park,
two important Wiltshire houses restored to an exceptional standard, revealed
a wealth of artisanal skills. The aptitude of British craftspeople, architects and designers for breathing new life into buildings and their settings doesn’t only benefit their owners and our heritage, it also creates employment and preserves expertise.

Each year, Country Life shines a spotlight on those practitioners with the knowledge and instincts to get it right. The result is the Country Life Top 100, which appears in this week's issue of the magazine.

John Ruskin’s belief that ‘hand, the head and the heart’ are key to creativity is as pertinent to achieving a beautiful house as any other artistic endeavour. It is for this reason that this year’s Country Life Top 100 includes a number of new additions specialising in artisanal skills, from plasterwork and willow weaving to carving and decorative painting that are some of the ingredients of a beautiful house and garden.

The perception of craft is shifting; within the context of architecture, interior design and gardens, it is recognised as the bedrock of distinctive, beautifully conceived design with a capacity for longevity.

The skills that these newcomers deliver are central to the renaissance of the English country house. So, too, are the materials they celebrate, including the stone, timber and plaster used to create designs in both the traditional and contemporary aesthetics that provide so much of the appeal of Britain’s enviable architectural heritage.

The full Country Life Top 100 for 2025 is published in the March 11, 2026 issue of Country Life magazine, which is out now. The fully-updated Country Life Top 100 list will be available online this weekend.

Interior designers

Studio Squire

In 2020, interior designer Angelica Squire joined forces with her husband, Richie, a construction specialist, to form Studio Squire. Today, this small London-based firm focuses on full-scale home renovations, taking on only a handful of projects each year across London and the South-East. ‘We love bringing clients’ aspirations to life, delivering a hands-on service in which we are usually involved from beginning to end,’ says Mrs Squire.

The studio employs textures and paint colours to deliver interiors in a pared-back style with plenty of interest and character. ‘So much comes from layering, often bringing in artwork, antiques and unusual objects,’ Mrs Squire explains.

Currently engaged on several contemporary apartments in the Chelsea Barracks development, London SW1, the studio is also working on a major residential project in Barnes, SW13, which includes a swimming pool, basement night club and pool house with sauna and ice bath, and is updating a large farmhouse in Oxfordshire for a young family moving from London. ‘We will only grow the studio so much, because we always want to be personally involved in every project — it is important to us to maintain that connection,’ she says.

020–3848 7614; www.studiosquire.co.uk

Vanrenen Hanbury

Headed by Sarah Vanrenen and Laura Hanbury, this Berkshire-based studio has a reputation for creative English country-house design — with a modern twist. ‘We enjoy the variety of what we do, never having a set formula,’ says Mrs Hanbury.

Mrs Vanrenen is the daughter of interior designer Penny Morrison and she credits her mother’s skills as having a profound influence on her work. After studying fine art in Florence, Italy, and spending five years working at Christie’s in London, she set up her own interior-design studio. About seven years ago, she was joined in the practice by Mrs Hanbury, who had trained at KLC School of Interior Design and then worked at leading design studio Mlinaric, Henry and Zervudachi (now known as ZRM). In 2025, they became business partners.

Recent projects include the revamp of a Victorian vicarage in London, the overhaul and extension of a Wiltshire manor house and a new riverside flat in London. The studio also offers a boutique collection of fabrics, lighting and furniture, including the Bluey collection of sofas and armchairs as part of a collaboration with Boura & White.

This spring marks the launch of new fabric collections and brass lighting. ‘In all our work, we like to add a pop of the unexpected, which instantly brings a design up to date,’ explains Mrs Vanrenen.

01488 500206; www.vanrenenhanbury.com

Specialists

Alison Crowther

Alison Crowther is a contemporary sculptor and furniture-maker whose designs are a celebration of English oak. Working with unseasoned timber, she hand carves each piece from monumental trunks — often wind- or storm-felled trees sourced from responsibly managed woodlands in the South Downs National Park, close to her studio. ‘My work responds to the grain, the annual rings, the branches and the unique anatomy of the tree,’ she says. Using traditional hand tools, including carving gouges similar to those used in the 16th century, allows the form to evolve in response to the material.

Ms Crowther studied 3D design at Buckinghamshire College and then furniture design at the Royal College of Art, first coming to prominence with pews she made for the Prior Silkstede Chapel at Winchester Cathedral in 1996. Since then, she has created significant site-specific works, from a 16½ft sculpture for a new tower in Los Angeles, US, to sculptural seating for the gardens at Glyndebourne in East Sussex — together with numerous private commissions, spanning large-scale pieces to fireside chairs and intimate handheld pieces. Her book, Carved: Con-versations with Wood, was self-published in 2025 and is available via her website.

07775 991957; www.alisoncrowther.com

Bernard Dru Oak Flooring

Specialising in solid English oak flooring, bespoke parquet design and architectural joinery, this company is unusual in sourcing timber from its own sustainably managed woodlands in the Haddeo valley on Exmoor, Somerset. The oak and other native hard-woods were originally established by owner Bernard Dru’s great-great-grandfather, who planted on an extensive scale. The 19th-century tracks had eroded over the decades, so Mr Dru has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to making the woodlands accessible once more and to producing the best-quality oak possible. In 2025, his work was honoured with a Royal Forestry Society Bede Howell Silver Award for Excellence in Silviculture.

Today, the company, founded in 1989, is run by Mr Dru and his wife, Catherine. ‘Our oak is admired for its flowery grain, which creates intriguing patterns, its biscuit colour tinged with a grey-pink tone, and the fine slightly etched quality to the grain,’ says Mrs Dru. ‘It also has a tendency to cat’s paw, producing attractive small clusters of knots.’ These are qualities that make its English oak a popular choice for listed and period buildings, with recent work including a new floor as part of the refurbishment of the Banquet-ing House, Whitehall, SW1, and the replication of an old parquet design for Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

01643 841312; www.oakfloor.co.uk

Fretton Handley

Partners in business and life, Clunie Fretton and Felix Handley are capable of a wide range of classical and traditional carving and sculptural commissions. Operating from two studios in London, they founded Fretton Handley in 2016 after they both graduated with distinctions in Ornamental and Historic Wood and Stone Carving from the City & Guilds of London Art School. Ms Fretton specialises in wood carving, Mr Handley in stone carving and, together, they offer bespoke services, from carving and sculpture to gild-ing, restoration, letter carving and inscriptions, memorials and ecclesiastical work. By preference, they work in native British stones and hardwood, but also undertake commissions in a variety of other sculptural materials, such as bronze and plaster.

Commissions vary from coats of arms and sculptures for private clients to work for the Houses of Parliament and the V&A Museum. They have recently completed the carving of a fireplace cartouche as part of the restoration of the Tapestry Drawing Room at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. Ms Fretton is a member of the Master Carvers’ Association, a body formed in the late 19th century to ensure that high standards of carving be maintained, and chair of the craft committee of The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers. ‘We enjoy continuing to develop these skills and in being part of the ongoing Western tradition of sculpture,’ she says.

www.frettonhandley.com

Geoffrey Preston Sculpture & Design

Leading architectural sculptor and artist Geoffrey Preston works in plaster, producing highly decorative ceilings, wall panels and more. After studying sculpture at Hornsey College of Art in north London, Mr Preston trained as a stonemason and carver. As a founder director of two of the country’s most respected conservation companies, he worked on the restoration of the 18th-century hand-modelled plasterwork at Uppark, West Sussex, after the 1989 fire. ‘That’s when I realised the artistic potential of plaster,’ he says.

In 2000, he moved to Devon and set up his workshop, which he runs with his wife, Jenny Lawrence, assisted by sculptor Kate Montagne. Most work is first modelled in clay, before a silicone mould is taken from the model and used to make a cast in plaster. He also works in stucco, a form of hand-modelled plaster-work that had its heyday in the 18th century. ‘It is a lime-rich material with its own particular natural beauty and it can be modelled to much greater depth for a bolder result.’

Projects include a high-relief, sculptural plasterwork wall, with mythical sea creatures and marine life, for the bar in The Goring hotel, London SW1, new ceilings for a Grade II- listed house in Dorset and an ornamental stucco panel for the Needle & Thread dress store on the King’s Road in Chelsea, SW3.

01392 811421; www.geoffreypreston.co.uk

Jay Davey Bespoke Willow

Jay Davey has been working with willow for 30 years. Based close to Taunton and the Somerset Levels, Mr Davey uses only locally and sustain-ably grown willow. ‘It is the flexibility of the material and its possibilities — including the opportunity to create curves and flowing lines — that inspire me,’ he says. Mr Davey runs the workshop with his wife, Theresa Decker, and has an order book that is full for months ahead.

He is known for his strikingly artistic creations, on-site weaving and bespoke garden screening and structures. A high-profile piece is the woven- willow onion dome atop the landmark Ribbon Tower at the Glastonbury Festival, which he originally created in 2014 and has looked after and re-woven ever since.

07983 783426; www.jaydavey.co.uk

Meg Boscawen Decorative Artist

In demand as a mural artist transforming walls and ceilings into delightful works of art, London-based Meg Boscawen works on projects all over the world. From large-scale designs to painted furniture, she is known for her delicate touch, considered use of colour and imaginative creations. Recent projects include a painted tented ceiling with striped walls and magical painted wardrobes for a child’s bedroom in Mumbai, India, a watery-blue-sky ceiling with meander-ing foliage in Geneva, Switzerland, a spring-themed mural for a conservatory-dining area in a house in Berkshire and dancing angels and cupids on a ceiling in London.

Ms Boscawen studied printed textiles at Leeds Art University in West Yorkshire before deciding in 2020 to combine her love of interior design and painting. Mentored by specialist craftsman and furniture-maker Rupert Bevan, she trained under leading decorative artists Lizzi Porter and Alistair Erskine. ‘They were so generous with their knowledge,’ she says, ‘and now I, in turn, enjoy training other artists.’ Her commissions come from both interior designers and private clients.

megboscawen.com

Stonewood Builders

This award-winning construction firm specialises in the restoration and conservation of buildings, as well as the construction of bespoke new houses. Stonewood is led by managing director Matt Aitkenhead, whose father, Neil, founded the business in 1972. The head office is in Castle Combe, Wilt-shire, with further offices in Castle Cary, Somerset, and Wantage, Oxfordshire. ‘We employ our own trades and labour, which makes us different, as we are not simply a management contractor,’ says Mr Aitken-head. ‘We have our own artisans who have been trained in house.’ Some 200 employees allow the firm to offer the full spectrum of building skills, including masonry, carpentry, roofing and plastering.

Notable work includes several projects at The Newt hotel and estates in Somerset and The Story of Emily visitor centre in Cornwall. (‘We supplied and fitted the largest single piece of glass on Earth,’ notes Mr Aitkenhead.) The firm has also completed construction of an award-winning rammed-earth house on the Somerset-Wiltshire border, courtyard accommodation, The Glasshouse restaurant at Estelle Manor hotel in Oxford-shire, a fine new house on a large scale in the Cotswolds and the restoration of a Grade I- listed house in Gloucestershire and another at Spetchley Park in Worcestershire.

01249 782293; www.stonewoodbuilders.co.uk

• Best architects in Britain
• Best interior designers in Britain
• Best garden designers and landscape designers in Britain
• Best country house specialists, builders and craftspeople in Britain

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

The best interior designers in Britain

The best country house specialists, builders and craftspeople in Britain

The best garden designers and landscape designers in Britain

More from the Country Life Top 100:

• Best garden designers in Britain
• Best architects in Britain
• Best interior designers in Britain

Alison Crowther

Alison Crowther is a contemporary sculptor and furniture-maker whose designs are a celebration of English oak. Working with unseasoned timber, she hand carves each piece from monumental trunks — often wind- or storm-felled trees sourced from responsibly managed woodlands in the South Downs National Park, close to her studio. ‘My work responds to the grain, the annual rings, the branches and the unique anatomy of the tree,’ she says. Using traditional hand tools, including carving gouges similar to those used in the 16th century, allows the form to evolve in response to the material.

Ms Crowther studied 3D design at Buckinghamshire College and then furniture design at the Royal College of Art, first coming to prominence with pews she made for the Prior Silkstede Chapel at Winchester Cathedral in 1996. Since then, she has created significant site-specific works, from a 16½ft sculpture for a new tower in Los Angeles, US, to sculptural seating for the gardens at Glyndebourne in East Sussex — together with numerous private commissions, spanning large-scale pieces to fireside chairs and intimate handheld pieces. Her book, Carved: Con-versations with Wood, was self-published in 2025 and is available via her website.

07775 991957; www.alisoncrowther.com

Artichoke

Known for fine-quality joinery and bespoke kitchens, Artichoke has been operating for more than 30 years and now takes on projects spanning the whole house, including interior design and internal architecture. Founder Bruce Hodgson is admired for his deep understanding of the country-house aesthetic. The firm works across the UK and internationally, with recent projects in the US, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy and France, from a Somerset design studio and workshops. All its timber is sourced from British suppliers and cured on site.

01934 745270; www.artichoke.co.uk

Artorius Faber

This family-run British natural-stone specialist based in Yeovil, Somerset, produces interior flagstone flooring, exterior paving, cobbles and architectural detailing, such as staircases. All products are created from scratch by a team of craftsmen, often using stone from its own quarry. The company also sources and reworks reclaimed materials and offers an end-to-end service, from initial concept discussions all the way through to design and installation, across the UK and internationally.

01935 847333; www.artoriusfaber.com

Bernard Dru Oak Flooring

Specialising in solid English oak flooring, bespoke parquet design and architectural joinery, this company is unusual in sourcing timber from its own sustainably managed woodlands in the Haddeo valley on Exmoor, Somerset. The oak and other native hard-woods were originally established by owner Bernard Dru’s great-great-grandfather, who planted on an extensive scale. The 19th-century tracks had eroded over the decades, so Mr Dru has dedicated more than 50 years of his life to making the woodlands accessible once more and to producing the best-quality oak possible. In 2025, his work was honoured with a Royal Forestry Society Bede Howell Silver Award for Excellence in Silviculture.

Today, the company, founded in 1989, is run by Mr Dru and his wife, Catherine. ‘Our oak is admired for its flowery grain, which creates intriguing patterns, its biscuit colour tinged with a grey-pink tone, and the fine slightly etched quality to the grain,’ says Mrs Dru. ‘It also has a tendency to cat’s paw, producing attractive small clusters of knots.’ These are qualities that make its English oak a popular choice for listed and period buildings, with recent work including a new floor as part of the refurbishment of the Banquet-ing House, Whitehall, SW1, and the replication of an old parquet design for Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

01643 841312; www.oakfloor.co.uk

Fretton Handley

Partners in business and life, Clunie Fretton and Felix Handley are capable of a wide range of classical and traditional carving and sculptural commissions. Operating from two studios in London, they founded Fretton Handley in 2016 after they both graduated with distinctions in Ornamental and Historic Wood and Stone Carving from the City & Guilds of London Art School. Ms Fretton specialises in wood carving, Mr Handley in stone carving and, together, they offer bespoke services, from carving and sculpture to gild-ing, restoration, letter carving and inscriptions, memorials and ecclesiastical work. By preference, they work in native British stones and hardwood, but also undertake commissions in a variety of other sculptural materials, such as bronze and plaster.

Commissions vary from coats of arms and sculptures for private clients to work for the Houses of Parliament and the V&A Museum. They have recently completed the carving of a fireplace cartouche as part of the restoration of the Tapestry Drawing Room at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. Ms Fretton is a member of the Master Carvers’ Association, a body formed in the late 19th century to ensure that high standards of carving be maintained, and chair of the craft committee of The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers. ‘We enjoy continuing to develop these skills and in being part of the ongoing Western tradition of sculpture,’ she says.

www.frettonhandley.com

Geoffrey Preston Sculpture & Design

Leading architectural sculptor and artist Geoffrey Preston works in plaster, producing highly decorative ceilings, wall panels and more. After studying sculpture at Hornsey College of Art in north London, Mr Preston trained as a stonemason and carver. As a founder director of two of the country’s most respected conservation companies, he worked on the restoration of the 18th-century hand-modelled plasterwork at Uppark, West Sussex, after the 1989 fire. ‘That’s when I realised the artistic potential of plaster,’ he says.

In 2000, he moved to Devon and set up his workshop, which he runs with his wife, Jenny Lawrence, assisted by sculptor Kate Montagne. Most work is first modelled in clay, before a silicone mould is taken from the model and used to make a cast in plaster. He also works in stucco, a form of hand-modelled plaster-work that had its heyday in the 18th century. ‘It is a lime-rich material with its own particular natural beauty and it can be modelled to much greater depth for a bolder result.’

Projects include a high-relief, sculptural plasterwork wall, with mythical sea creatures and marine life, for the bar in The Goring hotel, London SW1, new ceilings for a Grade II- listed house in Dorset and an ornamental stucco panel for the Needle & Thread dress store on the King’s Road in Chelsea, SW3.

01392 811421; www.geoffreypreston.co.uk

Jack Badger

Specialising in hand-cut architectural joinery and carving, Jack Badger celebrates the character created by the human hand, using traditional techniques to make solid hardwood internal and external doors, panelled rooms, flooring, staircases and bespoke pieces. Operating from workshops in Old Glossop, Derbyshire, the firm is a favourite among leading heritage architects, making joinery for properties in the UK and the US.

01457 854440; www.jackbadger.co.uk

Jay Davey Bespoke Willow

Jay Davey has been working with willow for 30 years. Based close to Taunton and the Somerset Levels, Mr Davey uses only locally and sustain-ably grown willow. ‘It is the flexibility of the material and its possibilities — including the opportunity to create curves and flowing lines — that inspire me,’ he says. Mr Davey runs the workshop with his wife, Theresa Decker, and has an order book that is full for months ahead.

He is known for his strikingly artistic creations, on-site weaving and bespoke garden screening and structures. A high-profile piece is the woven- willow onion dome atop the landmark Ribbon Tower at the Glastonbury Festival, which he originally created in 2014 and has looked after and re-woven ever since.

07983 783426; www.jaydavey.co.uk

Lapicida

This leading luxury tile and stone specialist is headed by managing director Jason Cherrington, who founded the company more than 30 years ago. In addition to the super-size showroom in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, Lapicida has a boutique London showroom in Pimlico, SW1, displaying natural stones, including antique reclaimed stone, and fine Italian porcelains, such as a new tactile collection from Italian brand Sodai, plus marble sinks and an area devoted to the brand’s Ornamenti range of Italian terracotta planters. Custom design and bespoke manufacturing services are available.

01423 400100; www.lapicida.com

Meg Boscawen Decorative Artist

In demand as a mural artist transforming walls and ceilings into delightful works of art, London-based Meg Boscawen works on projects all over the world. From large-scale designs to painted furniture, she is known for her delicate touch, considered use of colour and imaginative creations. Recent projects include a painted tented ceiling with striped walls and magical painted wardrobes for a child’s bedroom in Mumbai, India, a watery-blue-sky ceiling with meander-ing foliage in Geneva, Switzerland, a spring-themed mural for a conservatory-dining area in a house in Berkshire and dancing angels and cupids on a ceiling in London.

Ms Boscawen studied printed textiles at Leeds Art University in West Yorkshire before deciding in 2020 to combine her love of interior design and painting. Mentored by specialist craftsman and furniture-maker Rupert Bevan, she trained under leading decorative artists Lizzi Porter and Alistair Erskine. ‘They were so generous with their knowledge,’ she says, ‘and now I, in turn, enjoy training other artists.’ Her commissions come from both interior designers and private clients.

megboscawen.com

Moulding

Established in 1798, Moulding is a residential builder that is employee owned and today run by eighth-generation family member Tim Moulding. Its team of 120 craftspeople and managers specialises in building and restoring country houses, with in-house bespoke joinery and planned preventative maintenance services. The Wiltshire company is responsible for maintaining English Heritage sites throughout the South and West of England.

01722 742228; www.mouldingthebuilder.co.uk

Oakwrights

This award-winning company creates bespoke oak structures, including houses, extensions and garden buildings and modern sustainable timber-frame homes. Expertise ranges from marketing plots with outline planning consent to collaborating with landowners on thoughtfully designed small-scale developments. Pioneers in sustainable timber architecture, the company built the UK’s first oak-frame Passivhaus a decade ago. The firm welcomes visitors to its Herefordshire workshops, complemented by a year-round programme of open days in completed homes.

01432 353353; www.oakwrights.co.uk

Prime Oak

A UK market leader in the manufacture and construction of bespoke oak-frame extensions and outbuildings, Prime Oak produces garden rooms and orangeries to annexes and garages, using sustainable oak air-dried in its own yards. Founded in 1999 and operating nationwide, it manufactures in Staffordshire with a show site nearby, with additional show sites in Oxfordshire and in Hampshire.

01384 296611; www.primeoak.co.uk

R. W. Armstrong

Established in 1957, this family-owned construction company operates across London and the South of England, specialising in the refurbishment and renovation of country houses and listed properties. It also creates bespoke traditional and contemporary new homes, and undertakes commercial projects. The firm offers an in-house joinery and architectural interiors to complete its ‘from concept to project completion’ service.

01256 850177; www.rwarmstrong.co.uk

Rose of Jericho

Decades of expertise in traditional paints, lime mortars and plasters has given Dorset-based Rose of Jericho an outstanding reputation among the UK’s best conservation specialists. Products are handmade to traditional recipes and often bespoke to individual projects. Its paints are made using only artist-quality earth and mineral powder pigments to provide a purity of colour rarely achieved in modern paints. The firm also provides analysis of historic mortars and paints, with an archive of more than 6,500 samples from past projects.

01935 83676; www.roseofjericho.co.uk

Stevensons of Norwich

From a bespoke decorative plaster ceiling to handmade cornices and ceiling roses, Stevensons of Norwich creates, installs and restores all kinds of intricate plaster-work and has worked in 40 countries around the world. The firm is licensed to replicate moulding patterns from the National Trust’s properties, thanks to its long association with the charity, and has recently completed bespoke designs for the dining room at The Goring hotel, SW1, and the restoration of the state rooms at Wolterton Park, Norfolk.

01603 400824; www.stevensons-of-norwich.co.uk

Stonewood Builders

This award-winning construction firm specialises in the restoration and conservation of buildings, as well as the construction of bespoke new houses. Stonewood is led by managing director Matt Aitkenhead, whose father, Neil, founded the business in 1972. The head office is in Castle Combe, Wilt-shire, with further offices in Castle Cary, Somerset, and Wantage, Oxfordshire. ‘We employ our own trades and labour, which makes us different, as we are not simply a management contractor,’ says Mr Aitken-head. ‘We have our own artisans who have been trained in house.’ Some 200 employees allow the firm to offer the full spectrum of building skills, including masonry, carpentry, roofing and plastering.

Notable work includes several projects at The Newt hotel and estates in Somerset and The Story of Emily visitor centre in Cornwall. (‘We supplied and fitted the largest single piece of glass on Earth,’ notes Mr Aitkenhead.) The firm has also completed construction of an award-winning rammed-earth house on the Somerset-Wiltshire border, courtyard accommodation, The Glasshouse restaurant at Estelle Manor hotel in Oxford-shire, a fine new house on a large scale in the Cotswolds and the restoration of a Grade I- listed house in Gloucestershire and another at Spetchley Park in Worcestershire.

01249 782293; www.stonewoodbuilders.co.uk

Stuart Interiors

Established more than 40 years ago, this bespoke oak joinery firm is now run by second-generation family members Jake Russell and Rebecca Fisher, from an office in Somerset and a joinery workshop in the Czech Republic. Known for traditional timber panelling, ceilings, doors, staircases and furniture, the company counts the National Trust, Historic Royal Palaces, English Heritage and a roster of A-list celebrities among its clients.

01935 826659; www.stuartinteriors.com

W. G. Carter

Specialising in the restoration and renovation of country and heritage houses, many of them listed, this full-service construction company operates from its Abingdon base across Oxfordshire, the Cotswolds and the surrounding counties. Established in 1947, the award-winning firm is now run by James Robertson, who leads a team of 55 construction professionals and skilled craftsmen.

01865 864626; www.wgcarter.co.uk

ZOTA

This Cirencester-based construction company is known for its work in the Cotswolds, on new-build and renovation projects at traditional properties. Founded in 1997 by director Nick Moffat, who now heads a team of 40 staff, ZOTA provides a complete service, from initial planning to final realisation. It also offers bespoke cabinetry from its joinery workshop and works alongside consultants for audio, lighting, home technology, heating and renewable energy. It runs its own decorating team, offering specialist finishes and spraying.

01285 708708; www.zota.co.uk

We've completely revised and updated our list of the finest of them all.

More from the Country Life Top 100:

• Best architects in Britain
• Best interior designers in Britain
• Best country house specialists in Britain

Angela Collins Garden Design

Angela ‘Angel’ Collins specialises in creating delightful gardens with romantic planting combined with crisp architectural lines and elegant symmetry. She is particularly in demand for garden designs at historic country houses, currently including an estate in the Surrey Hills, ongoing work at Bruern Abbey in Oxfordshire, a Jacobean house in the Cotswolds and a handsome house in Northamptonshire, where she has recently finished a vegetable garden with raised beds filled with annual meadow flowers, cabbages, asparagus and artichokes.

Other projects for this Warwickshire firm include gardens for new-build houses in Northamptonshire and Warwickshire and a London garden, on which she is working with her newly qualified designer son, Johnnie.

07876 592440; www.angelacollins.co.uk

Angus Thompson

Oxfordshire-based Angus Thompson is known for quietly contemporary garden design, combining an elegant simplicity and deep knowledge of plants. Focusing on gardens for both modern and period houses across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and London, he will unveil his first Main Avenue garden at RHS Chelsea in May.

01865 552446; www.angusthompsondesign.com

Arabella Lennox-Boyd

Arabella Lennox-Boyd counts some of Britain’s most beautiful private gardens in her portfolio. Lady Lennox-Boyd blends 50 years of experience with a deep knowledge of planting, creating mostly formal Italianate romantic-style gardens from her London base. She was appointed CBE for services to horticulture and charity in The King’s Birthday Honours 2025.

020–7931 9995; www.arabellalennoxboyd.com

Balston Agius

Balston Agius is run by Marie-Louise Agius, renowned for her horticultural knowledge and passion for rare trees and shrubs. A director of Exbury Gardens in Hampshire and RHS judge and chairman of the RHS Woody Expert Group, she heads a Wiltshire practice known for working in harmony with the surroundings on country estates and large-scale landscape remodelling.

01380 848181; www.balstonagius.co.uk

Butter Wakefield

An expert in creating country charm in the city, Butter Wakefield heads a small studio in west London, taking on work across the capital and the South. Her enchanting designs brimming with plants are the recipients of many awards, the most recent of which is the 2025 BALI Principal and Grand Awards for a project in East Sussex, set across five acres and the studio’s biggest project to date.

07973 516149; www.butterwakefield.co.uk

Cameron

Well known for creating inviting family gardens both in London and the country, Alasdair Cameron founded his London-based practice in 1992; his wife, Tori, works with him. Imaginatively designed seating and entertaining areas ensure that gardens are developed with indoor-outdoor living in mind. Naturalistic planting with year-round interest is a forté, together with a strong sense of colour, thoughtful structure and an ability to deliver atmospheric gardens underpinned by a harmonious sense of place.

020–8969 3399; www.camerongardens.co.uk

Dan Pearson

Dan Pearson is celebrated for his work as a landscape designer, horticulturist and writer and is the 2025 Society of Garden and Landscape Designers Lifetime Achievement Award winner. He is known worldwide and especially in Japan for designing the Tokachi Millennium Forest.

Admired for the naturalistic feel of his planting, using perennial plants, grasses and native trees, he and his studio have recently completed phase two of the Delos Garden at Sissinghurst in Kent and phase one of the Goodwood Art Foundation in West Sussex, which opened in May 2025. Other projects include Play Earth Park, a 100-acre public Nature and adventure play park in Toyama, Japan, and the ongoing development of the masterplan for the future of Beth Chatto Gardens in Essex.

020–7928 3800; www.danpearsonstudio.com

Emily Erlam Studio

The television producer-turned-landscape designer Emily Erlam founded her London-based studio in 2010, earning a reputation for designs that exist in harmony with their surroundings, with a light, airy feel and relaxed, natural style. Having recently com-pleted designs at the Hambledon Vineyard in Hampshire and inns in the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales, the studio is working on the Chatsworth House historic West Terrace private garden in Derbyshire and designs for period villas in London. The Dungeness garden at The Experimental Station in Kent is showcased in The Contemporary Garden (published by Phaidon) and a rooftop garden in King’s Cross, London N1, is featured in Pastoral Gardens (Montgomery Press).

07973 419097; www.erlamstudio.com

Harris Bugg Studio

Charlotte Harris and Hugo Bugg have been described as ‘pioneering design talents of their generation’ by Marcus Chilton, curator of RHS Garden Bridgewater in Manchester. It would be hard to disagree: the pair’s work spans private estates, historic and conservation landscapes and contemporary city spaces, each garden characterised by intelligent planting and soulful resonance, deeply rooted in place. The studio, with bases in London, Devon and Scotland, is currently leading the major restoration and planting revitalisation of eco-Brutalist masterpiece the Barbican Conservatory, London EC2.

0330 223 6496; www.harrisbugg.com

I & J Bannerman

Isabel and Julian Bannerman are known for quintessentially English gardens with a sense of theatre and romanticism. They have been designing gardens and garden buildings together since 1983, including gardens at Highgrove in Gloucestershire, and were granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment to The King in 2024. They are currently designing a cottage orné with a style anglais garden on the shores of Lake Geneva and making an arcadian garden by the sea south of Naples, Italy. Mrs Bannerman is a regular contributor to the In The Garden column in Country Life and the Somerset duo discuss how to create a free-spirited, romantic English country garden in their Create Academy course, launched in February.

www.bannermandesign.com

James Alexander-Sinclair

Based in Oxfordshire, James Alexander-Sinclair is a leading figure in the world of garden design, blending charisma with talent and deep knowledge. He is an RHS vice-president, RHS Gardens judge, television presenter, lecturer, writer (including for Country Life), podcaster and the head of his own practice, specialising in country gardens. His projects range from an eight-acre hospice garden in Norwich, Norfolk, and Horatio’s Garden in Scotland to domestic gardens from Surrey to the Cotswolds, such as at Grove Ley in Somerset.

07515 336356; www.jamesalexandersinclair.com

Jane Brown

Describing her approach as a blend of the traditional and modern, Jane Brown works carefully to create bespoke designs, many of which are country gardens in historical settings. Her recent work includes new gardens around a 16th-century farmhouse in Kent with extensive cottage-style planting and new terraces, as well as the renovation of a five-acre garden around an Arts-and-Crafts house in Surrey, with re-planting and new areas, such as ponds and wildflower meadows. Working across London and the South-East, Miss Brown is also designing a garden for a new, contemporary-style country house in her home county of East Sussex.

07894 427114; www.janebrown.co.uk

Jinny Blom Studio

Gifted landscape designer, plantswoman and author Jinny Blom is admired for her imaginative use of colour and artistic approach, as seen in the garden of Hampnett House in Gloucestershire. Specialising in creative garden design, landscape restoration and sustainable water use, her London studio is growing apace to respond to increasingly large estate projects.

020–3950 2899; www.jinnyblom.com

Jo Thompson Landscape & Garden Design

London-based designer, writer and speaker Jo Thompson is admired for atmospheric designs with artistic planting. Recent projects are a riverside rose garden in west London, a village garden in Kent bordering a Grade I-listed castle, a climate-resilient coastal space for a new-build home in Sussex and a 15th-century Kent farmhouse garden, with restored meadows, orchard planting and her signature roses anchoring the house within its historic setting.

Following her 2025 Gold-medal success at Chelsea with the Glasshouse Garden, she has been invited by the RHS to design The Archers 75th Anniversary Garden at RHS Badminton in Gloucestershire this year, celebrating the programme’s long rural tradition.

www.jothompson-garden-design.co.uk

Kim Wilkie

Admired Hampshire-based landscape architect Kim Wilkie is known for designing new cities, forests and farmland, as well as earth sculptures, such as Orpheus, the inverted grass pyramid at Boughton, Northamptonshire. He recently won the competition to design a new Museum of Jesus’s Baptism and its wilderness setting at Bethany in Jordan with the architect Níall McLaughlin.

07768 874089; www.kimwilkie.com

Lloyd Brunt Outdoor Design

Graham Lloyd-Brunt is well known for creating timeless gardens that appear to have always been there. Currently working at a 14th-century château in France and a Georgian estate with walled garden in Scotland, the London studio offers a complete service — with large glasshouses a present speciality.

www.lloydbrunt.com

Lutyens & FitzGerald Landscape Design

Garden designer Catherine FitzGerald and landscape architect Mark Lutyens head a small Wiltshire practice, specialising in designing new gardens and restoring historic ones. The pair are known for their keen response to spirit of place, blurring the boundaries of what lies beyond and embracing a planting style that blends naturalism with more exuberant romanticism anchored within a bold structure. Miss Fitzgerald’s work at Glenarm Castle, Co Antrim, was showcased in Country Life last year. Recent work includes new gardens at Ballyfin Demesne, Co Laois, and an ecologically designed retreat on the west coast of Scotland that merges with the landscape.

07785 330302; lutyensfitzgerald.com

Marian Boswall Landscape Architects

Known for expertly crafted gardens and abundant planting in natural ecosystems, Kent-based Marian Boswall’s recent book, The Kindest Garden (Frances Lincoln), relates her approach to regenerative gardening and was the Garden Media Guild Gardening Book of the Year 2025. Current projects include regenerative estates in Yorkshire and Sussex, historic gardens in the Cotswolds and a modern house on Chichester Harbour, West Sussex.

020–7305 7153; www.marianboswall.com

Mazzullo + Russell Landscape Design

Emma Mazzullo and Libby Russell head a London studio that undertakes a wide range of projects, including large estates, across the UK, Channel Islands and abroad. They are known for their long experience and attention to detail together with romantic and thoughtful planting. Recent projects include a naturalistic garden around an estuary near Dartmouth, Devon, an Arts-and-Crafts house on the Surrey Hills linking the main house to a new pool complex and gardens in Sweden, Jersey and London, including a large, rural-feeling garden that looks on to Hampstead Heath. Libby Russell also gardens at Batcombe House, Somerset, which has recently featured in several books, including Wonderlands by Clare Coulson (Hardie Grant).

020–7931 9996; www.mazzullorussell.com

Miria Harris Design

London-based landscape designer Miria Harris has a background in contemporary art and curation and uses her expert eye to create dynamic, artistic gardens that feature a painterly sense of colour, made with low environmental-impact choices and materials that blend well into the overall scheme. Current projects include a modern crafted garden for a Suffolk cottage and a garden for a house overlooking a fjord in Oslo, Norway, as well as designs in Cornwall and Jersey.

07887 993197; www.miriaharris.com

Pip Morrison Landscape Designs

Widely admired for his sensitive, thoughtful approach to design and expertise in the development of historic gardens, Pip Morrison has recently completed the restoration of the Auckland Castle gardens, Co Durham, which is now open to the public. Other recent projects for the Hampshire studio include the restoration of the gardens and park of Schloss Lerbach, a country house near Cologne, Germany, which is to become a luxury hotel, and the restoration of the park at a country house by Samuel Wyatt in Surrey.

07817 736360; pip@pipmorrison.co.uk

Robert Myers Associates

Specialising in contemporary landscapes in historic settings, this practice is known for timeless, yet quietly modern gardens, balancing structure with naturalistic planting. Led by seven-time RHS Chelsea Gold-medal winner Robert Myers, the Worcestershire practice operates across major rural estates and significant private gardens to city squares, Oxbridge colleges and cathedral precincts. Recent work includes St John’s College, Cambridge, Cowley Manor hotel in the Cotswolds and Cambridge House on Piccadilly, London W1, for Auberge Resorts Collection.

01885 227377; www.robertmyers-associates.co.uk

Rupert Golby

Known for his deep knowledge and invaluable advice, Rupert Golby is admired for creating classic English gardens. Often, he stays with his projects, developing them as they evolve over the decades. From Oxfordshire, he continues to work at Nevill Holt, Leicestershire, site of an annual opera festival, where he is extending the parkland by introducing more English oaks and restoring the 19th-century wrought-iron railings around the adjacent church. He continues at Ferne Park in Dorset, adding more magnolias to the lakeside. Mr Golby is reinterpreting the courtyard garden next to the Arts-and-Crafts house Rodmarton Manor in Gloucestershire, in collaboration with the owners. He enjoys the challenge of small spaces and is at work on a front garden in Oxford, too.

07785 228384

Tania Compton

Renowned for gardens with naturalistic and interesting planting, with lawns merging into meadows and substantial herbaceous borders, Country Life contributor Tania Compton’s artistic eye makes her highly sought after in the UK and abroad from her Wiltshire base. Her work demonstrates an expertise in creating a fine balance between art and Nature, with a subtle element of surprise. Her striking photographs of plants can be enjoyed on her Instagram page, @taniacompton.

www.taniacompton.co.uk

Todd Longstaffe-Gowan

Renowned for creating historically informed, inventive and exciting horticultural designs, London-based Todd Longstaffe-Gowan is gardens adviser to Historic Royal Palaces, president of the London Parks and Gardens Trust and a lecturer, as well as an author. He brings to his garden design a sense of the complexities of our relation to the past, informed by his training and experience as an architect, landscape architect, cultural geographer and historian.

Current work includes collaborating with architect Ben Pentreath on the creation of a new, extensive country estate in Bedfordshire, forming new gardens at Ashridge House in Hertfordshire and reviving the historic gardens at Serre de la Madone in Menton, France.

020–3327 3780; www.tlg-landscape.co.uk

Tom Stuart-Smith Studio

Established in 1998, this Hertfordshire studio of 27 is headed by five directors, including Tom Stuart-Smith and Kurosh Davis. All design work is overseen by Mr Stuart-Smith, who is renowned for blending naturalism with modern design and whose talents were first showcased at RHS Chelsea in 1998 with a garden for Chanel. He has since earned nine Gold medals, including three Best in Show, combining deep know-ledge of plants with an extraordinary eye for design on a big scale.

Current projects include the opening of the new Clore Garden outside Tate Britain, London SW1, which will be celebrated in an RHS Chelsea show garden in May. A new compact edition of the book Tom Stuart-Smith: Drawn from the Land (Thames & Hudson), written by Tim Richardson, will be published in May.

020–7253 2100; www.tomstuartsmith.co.uk

Xa Tollemache

With traditional gardens her speciality, Xa Tollemache is an expert at transforming neglected landscapes, from small gardens in town to large estates. Taking inspiration from the architecture of the house or surrounding landscape, her designs always have focal points such as plants and statues, with paths meandering through clumps of lavender and roses, as well as informal planting of perennials, redolent of the garden she created for her husband’s ancestral home, Helmingham Hall in Suffolk. Currently working on designs for gardens in Northumberland, Wiltshire, Shropshire, Suffolk and London, she also offers the Helmingham collection of bespoke garden furniture.

01473 890799; www.xa-tollemache.co.uk

More from the Country Life Top 100:

• Best architects in Britain
• Best country house specialists in Britain
• Best garden designers in Britain

Eadie & Crole

Known for elegant, understated and harmonious interiors, Eadie & Crole was founded in 2019 in Hampshire by Sophie Eade and Fi Crole. Their ability to pair subtle hues and natural textures with antiques and contemporary art is evident in London townhouses and an impressive portfolio of country-house projects. The pair has also recently launched a debut upholstered-furniture collaboration with Lorfords Contemporary, rugs with Jennifer Manners and their second fabric and wallpaper collection.

01264 738768; www.eadieandcrole.com

Edward Bulmer

Edward Bulmer is an interior designer and architectural historian specialising in the restoration of heritage buildings. As the founder of Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, he is an exponent of environmental sustainability, moving his shop to a new address on London’s Pimlico Road, SW1, in 2025.

Recent work has included the revival of a long-forgotten country mansion, finishing the fitting-out of a ducal room first begun in 1830 and the first phase of the restoration of a great neo-Classical house, which had previously been given a minimalist makeover.

01544 388535; www.edwardbulmerinteriordesign.co.uk

Grenney Greig

Having previously run Veere Grenney Associates, distinguished designer Veere Grenney has partnered with long-time creative director Natasha Greig to form Grenney Greig. Interiors are rooted in the classical tradition, balanced by contemporary elegance and tailored comfort. Recent projects are a Switzerland chalet, a Singapore apartment and a London town-house. Mr Grenney’s debut online video course, A Life in Design, is now on Create Academy.

020–7351 7170; www.grenneygreig.com

Guy Goodfellow

For more than two decades, Guy Goodfellow has been designing timeless interiors, combining his knowledge of heritage architecture and antiques with an expert eye for colour and comfort. Projects include a townhouse in Edinburgh, a new-build classical house in Warwickshire, a riverside townhouse in Chelsea and the careful renovation of an Arts-and-Crafts estate in Surrey. The Guy Goodfellow Collection of fabrics and wallpapers, based on historic textiles reinterpreted in inspired colourways, is available from his shop in Chelsea, SW10.

020–7349 0728; www.guygoodfellow.com

Isabella Worsley

After working for both Guy Goodfellow and Kit Kemp, Isabella Worsley founded her own architectural and interior-design studio in London in 2018 and fast earned a reputation for confident use of colour and pattern and for original interiors that champion the work of British artists and craftspeople. Her Italianate loggia design for the Country Life stand at last year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show was awarded four stars by the judges and became one of the most photographed stands of the event.

Other recent projects include a beach house on the Sussex coast featuring rich colours and natural textures and the first London showroom for Bavarian dress company Annina. The designer also offers a range of fabrics and wallpapers inspired by antique textiles and Italianate block printing.

020–8075 5232; www.isabellaworsley.com

Janine Stone & Co

Established for more than 35 years, with offices in London, Cheshire and New York, this firm is renowned for creating timeless private residences, undertaking everything from sensitive renovations of period town-houses to new-build country homes extending to 30,000sq ft. It offers an unusually integrated approach, with architecture, interior design and construction management under one roof. Projects include a substantial family residence in India, houses on the Wentworth Estate in Surrey and commissions in Regent’s Park and Knightsbridge, London. The firm also offers Clarity, a pre-purchase advisory service that provides guidance on planning, layouts and construction costs.

020–7627 5300; www.janinestone.com

Katharine Pooley

Known for supremely luxurious interiors and for championing the work of British craftspeople, Katharine Pooley heads a team of 49 interior designers and interior architects. Projects span the private residential, hospitality and commercial sectors around the world, recently including an historic château on the Côte d’Azur, France, involving meticulous work by artists and specialists, as well as the transformation of a Victorian villa in London’s Notting Hill and the design of country estates, contemporary homes, luxury spas, beach villas, ski chalets, private jets and yachts. Her boutique on Walton Street, London SW3, offers elegant furniture, lighting and decorative home accessories.

020–7584 3223; katharinepooley.com

Kit Kemp

Kit Kemp, co-founder and creative director of Firmdale Hotels, has long been admired for her colourful, comfortable and highly distinctive interiors. She has completed the design of 12 hotels in London and New York, US, including the recently opened Warren Street Hotel in Tribeca.

As head of her eponymous design studio in London, which she runs with daughters Minnie and Willow, Mrs Kemp brings her magic touch to residential interiors that include homes in the capital and the country, villas in the South of France and properties in Barbados and the US. Her new book, Design Stories (Rizzoli, £45), is being launched this month, as is a new textile collection with G. P. & J. Baker, to add to her 2025 collaborations with Chelsea Textiles and Andrew Martin.

020–3813 6216; www.kitkemp.com

Lonika Chande

Known for her spirited designs, which are backed up by plenty of practicality and technical know-how, Lonika Chande creates warm, inviting interiors that combine a distinctive mix of antiques, textiles and art with a modern edge. Specialising in residential projects in London and the South-East, the London studio is a favourite with young families.

020–7627 0472; www.lonikachande.com

Lucy Cunningham Interiors

Delivering her own fresh take on classic English country-house style, London-based Lucy Cunningham is known for charming, characterful interiors layered with pattern, colour, antiques and contemporary pieces. A favourite for substantial projects across the UK, she is working on a listed Jacobean manor house in Gloucestershire, an apartment in Mayfair and a Cotswold home for a young family moving from London. She is also reviving the interior of a Georgian country house in Yorkshire to prepare it for a new generation of family members.

07740 463306; www.lucycunningham.com

Max Rollitt

Max Rollitt is an interior designer, furniture-maker and antiques dealer whose sought-after style has earned him acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Distinctive for their layers of colour, texture and history, suffused with comfort, his recent projects include a listed farmhouse in the West Country, adapted and restored for a young family, a historic townhouse in Hampshire and a house in Chelsea, London, with spaces repurposed for multigenerational family life. Each project draws upon antiques from his Hampshire showroom at Yavington Barn, together with his own collection of bespoke furniture, which will be expanded in 2026.

01962 791124; www.maxrollitt.com

Nels Crosthwaite Eyre

Hampshire-based Nels Crosthwaite Eyre offers a lighter take on classic English country-house style, geared to a younger generation. After working for the late, great Robert Kime for several years, she set up her own studio in 2014, expertly combining a skill in creating interiors geared to the practicalities of family life with her eye for unique vintage textiles, art and antique furniture, mixed with joyful detail and sumptuous colour.

07725 818077; www.eyreinteriors.co.uk

Nina Campbell

One of the world’s most respected interior designers, Nina Campbell is admired for elegant, classic English decorating with a distinctively light, witty touch. Current projects include private residences in London, Paris, France, and Monaco, as well as the newly reopened Woolpack Inn in Hampshire and completed KYN Hurlingham care home in London SW6, with two further developments for KYN under way.

Collaborations also continue apace, including fabrics and wallpapers for Osborne & Little and the expanding Nina Campbell Home collection for Next. Nina Campbell Furniture will launch in the US this year. Her delightful shop on Pimlico Road, London SW1, offers tableware, accessories and furniture; her son, Max Konig, and daughter, Alice Deen, work alongside her.

020–7591 5797; shop.ninacampbell.com

Oliver Laws

With the highly experienced Guy Oliver at the helm, this Mayfair, W1-based practice specialises in elegant and timeless interiors that celebrate the beauty of bespoke craftsmanship. Discreet about his work on some of the grandest properties in the land — and some on water, too — among his few pubicised projects is a boutique luxury hotel in the centre of Florence, Italy, which is due to open in the summer.

020–7437 8487; www.oliverlaws.com

Osborn Interiors

Bee Osborn heads an interior architectural design practice based in London and the Cotswolds, tackling both residential and commercial projects. Her restful interiors celebrate the beauty of natural materials, such as stone, reclaimed wood, rattan and linen. Current projects include substantial homes in the UK and continued work on a luxury hotel in St Barths in the Caribbean.

www.osborninteriors.com

Pippa Paton Design

Pippa Paton heads a studio known for breathing new life into historic Cotswold properties, honouring their heritage and layering each home with modern comfort. Offering a full spectrum of services including interior design, architecture and project management, the Oxfordshire studio recently completed the renovation and extension of a Grade II-listed farmhouse. Ongoing projects include work to a Grade II-listed rectory and the conversion of its former stables to a light-filled apartment and art studio, and a former cart shed into a wellness centre. Mrs Paton’s third book, Twenty First Century Cotswolds Vol. III, is published in May 2026.

01865 595470; www.pippapatondesign.co.uk

Rita Konig

A sought-after talent on both sides of the Atlantic, Rita Konig (‘The goddess of small things’, October 8, 2025) last year opened an office in Palm Beach, Florida, US. This year, she will launch a furniture and accessories collection, Rita Konig Household Goods, and a second collection of fabrics and wallpapers with Schumacher, to accompany her debut collection that came out in 2024.

Recent projects include the home of the 19th-century painter Winslow Homer on the coast of Maine, US, a house for passionate art collectors in London and a Park Avenue apartment in New York, US. A new book, about her own flat in London, will be published in 2027.

020–3735 7280; www.ritakonig.com

Sean Symington

It has been a busy 12 months for Sean Symington, who is based in Tetbury, Gloucestershire. His ability to add character and comfort at a Tudor farmhouse he designed in Suffolk was showcased in Country Life. Other projects include the recent renovation of a home near Paris, France, the transformation of a country cottage in the Cotswolds and the revival of a country manor home in Wiltshire. He also recently collaborated on an award-winning fabric and wallpaper line with G. P. & J. Baker.

07918 080355; www.seansymington.com

Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler

Founded in the 1930s, Britain’s most venerable interior-decorating firm has always been known for quintessentially English style. Led by Emma Burns and Philip Hooper, the group of seven director-decorators, including recently promoted Chloe Willis and Lucy Mayers, undertakes a diverse range of projects. The article ‘Are you sitting sociably?’ offered a window onto Ms Burns’s skill, as demonstrated in her work at The Hurlingham Club, London SW6. Brussels Weave carpets, classic lighting and furniture, including the revival of many pieces from the archive. Partnerships with antique dealer Brownrigg and Jenna Burlingham Art complement the elegant room sets at the showroom on Pimlico Road, London SW1.

020–7493 2231; www.sibylcolefax.com

Sims Hilditch

Founder Emma Sims-Hilditch heads this forward-thinking studio, which is celebrated for its ability to bring a fresh eye to English country-house style. With a timeless aesthetic rooted in its Cotswolds base, this full-service studio of 40 achieved B-Corp accreditation last year, affirming its commitment to using design as a force for good, and was recognised as one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2025. Her book Beautifully British Interiors (Rizzoli), written with Country Life’s Giles Kime, is out now.

Current projects include the revitalisation of a Grade I-listed Georgian townhouse in London, the pro-bono transformation of a Cotswold farm for charity Jamie’s Farm and homes across the US, Europe and Hong Kong.

020–3701 9578; www.simshilditch.com

Spencer-Churchill Designs

Lecturer, author and designer Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill specialises in grand English country-house style and restoration of period properties, running her interior-design company, Woodstock Designs, close to her ancestral home at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.

At present, she is working on several projects in Oxfordshire and the Home Counties and one in the US. Her recent book, Blenheim: 300 Years of Life in a Palace (Rizzoli), celebrates the history and restoration of Britain’s most renowned private palace.

01993 811887; www.spencerchurchilldesigns.com

Studio Squire

In 2020, interior designer Angelica Squire joined forces with her husband, Richie, a construction specialist, to form Studio Squire. Today, this small London-based firm focuses on full-scale home renovations, taking on only a handful of projects each year across London and the South-East. ‘We love bringing clients’ aspirations to life, delivering a hands-on service in which we are usually involved from beginning to end,’ says Mrs Squire.

The studio employs textures and paint colours to deliver interiors in a pared-back style with plenty of interest and character. ‘So much comes from layering, often bringing in artwork, antiques and unusual objects,’ Mrs Squire explains.

Currently engaged on several contemporary apartments in the Chelsea Barracks development, London SW1, the studio is also working on a major residential project in Barnes, SW13, which includes a swimming pool, basement night club and pool house with sauna and ice bath, and is updating a large farmhouse in Oxfordshire for a young family moving from London. ‘We will only grow the studio so much, because we always want to be personally involved in every project — it is important to us to maintain that connection,’ she says.

020–3848 7614; www.studiosquire.co.uk

Thorp

This London-based multidisciplinary design studio, headed by founder Philippa Thorp, was established more than 40 years ago and now works across a discreet international portfolio of private residences, estates and selected commercial projects, offering architectural, interior design, landscape and art-curation services under one roof. The studio’s current projects span Monaco, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the Cote d’Azur in France, Geneva, Switzerland, and New York, Connecticut and Miami in the US.

020–7235 7808; www.thorp.co.uk

Thurstan

James Thurstan Waterworth heads this London-based interior-design studio, which he founded in 2018, drawing on his experience as the former European design director of Soho House. He is particularly adept at bringing history to life, celebrating the beauty of antique finds and the patina of aged materials to create atmospheric interiors with a pared-back style and modern edge, exemplified by his room scheme for the 2025 WOW!house at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, SW10, created with lighting specialist Hector Finch. The studio’s client list includes the Duchy of Somerset, founder of Soho House Nick Jones and The Zetter Group of boutique hotels in London.

020–8129 5855; thurstan.co

Todhunter Earle Interiors

Todhunter Earle balances a deep understanding of historic architecture with an instinctive feel for modern life, creating interiors renowned for their warmth, comfort and character. Led by Emily Todhunter and Kate Earle, the London studio undertakes projects in some of Britain’s most significant private homes, thanks to its notable sense of discretion and ability to deliver complex projects to uncompromising standards. Recent work includes a major Georgian shooting estate, a pioneering rammed-earth new-build and private houses in London and abroad.

020–7349 9999; www.todhunterearle.com

Turner Pocock

Ever discreet about their high-profile client list, Bunny Turner and Emma Pocock lead an interior-design studio, founded in 2007, that is admired for its outstanding creativity and confident use of colour and pattern. With offices in London and Geneva, Switzerland, projects include elegant, yet relaxed family homes, in the Alps, on Lake Geneva, in Edinburgh and in Holland Park, London.

The studio has recently collaborated on furniture collections with Chelsea Textiles, Lorfords and Julian Chichester. The two founders also run TP Caring Spaces, a charity that creates relaxation spaces for patients, key workers and the displaced.

020–3463 2390; www.turnerpocock.co.uk

Vanrenen Hanbury

Headed by Sarah Vanrenen and Laura Hanbury, this Berkshire-based studio has a reputation for creative English country-house design — with a modern twist. ‘We enjoy the variety of what we do, never having a set formula,’ says Mrs Hanbury.

Mrs Vanrenen is the daughter of interior designer Penny Morrison and she credits her mother’s skills as having a profound influence on her work. After studying fine art in Florence, Italy, and spending five years working at Christie’s in London, she set up her own interior-design studio. About seven years ago, she was joined in the practice by Mrs Hanbury, who had trained at KLC School of Interior Design and then worked at leading design studio Mlinaric, Henry and Zervudachi (now known as ZRM). In 2025, they became business partners.

Recent projects include the revamp of a Victorian vicarage in London, the overhaul and extension of a Wiltshire manor house and a new riverside flat in London. The studio also offers a boutique collection of fabrics, lighting and furniture, including the Bluey collection of sofas and armchairs as part of a collaboration with Boura & White.

This spring marks the launch of new fabric collections and brass lighting. ‘In all our work, we like to add a pop of the unexpected, which instantly brings a design up to date,’ explains Mrs Vanrenen.

01488 500206; www.vanrenenhanbury.com

VSP Interiors

Henriette von Stockhausen runs a Dorset-based studio renowned for classic country-house interiors informed by a strong understanding of historic architecture, appreciation of antiques and her instinctive eye for beauty. Expect comfortable, layered and characterful spaces that feel as if they have evolved naturally over time, balancing antique and traditional fabrics with contemporary art.

Current projects include listed houses and historic properties in the UK, Denmark and the US. This month sees the launch of Ms von Stockhausen’s furniture collection, rooted in classic English design and produced in collaboration with Oficina Inglesa, and later in the year comes a range of runners with Jennifer Manners.

01305 265892; www.vspinteriors.com

ADAM Architecture

This leading practice, operating from studios in London and Winchester, is recognised for its expertise in traditional architecture and urban design. Five distinguished directors lead a team of more than 135, undertaking a broad range of projects, from restoring large country houses and estates to new houses designed on classical and traditional principles, as well as work on historic interiors, including churches and livery halls.

The practice is also involved in major urban projects, including Nansledan in Cornwall and Poundbury in Dorset, mixed-use developments rooted in traditional design principles for the Duchy of Cornwall. Poundbury (Phase III) won the Diaphoros Prize at the Georgian Group Awards 2025, an honour that was shared with Ben Pentreath.

01962 843843; www.adamarchitecture.com

Ben Pentreath

Awarded an OBE for services to design in The King’s New Year Honours list 2026, Ben Pentreath heads a studio renowned for designing elegantly proportioned new buildings and breathing new life into traditional ones, including the recent renovation and new double-helix staircase at Fortnum & Mason’s flagship store in Piccadilly, W1, and the restoration of Brockfield Hall, North Yorkshire.

The studio’s collaboration with ADAM Architecture on Poundbury (Phase III) won the Diaphoros Prize at the Georgian Group Awards 2025 for the design of a town in the spirit of the Georgian era. Mr Pentreath also runs an inspiring shop, Pentreath & Hall, London WC1, with Bridie Hall, offering a window on his playful take on classic style. His next book, A Year at the Parsonage (Quadrille), written with his husband, Charlie McCormick, will be published in the autumn.

020–7430 2424; www.benpentreath.com

Benjamin Tindall Architects

Renowned for repairs and alterations to historic buildings, this practice has been based in Edinburgh’s Old Town for more than 40 years. Benjamin Tindall’s love of craftsmanship means the firm offers a full range of services, from the design of light fittings to furniture and ironmongery. Recent projects include a major upgrade at Hawthornden Castle in Midlothian, works at Cloch Lighthouse on the Firth of Clyde and a contemporary net-zero new-build house with a turf roof on the shores of Loch Earn in the Highlands.

0131–220 3366; www.benjamintindallarchitects.co.uk

Craig Hamilton Architects

Led by Craig Hamilton and Dr Gail Kenton, this firm is a progressive classical and traditional architectural practice with offices in Radnorshire and Hampshire. Projects under way include a new-build country house in Warwickshire, the extension and renovation of a historic farmhouse in Wiltshire and the extension and improvement of a Grade II*-listed rectory in the Cotswolds. A three-volume book set featuring the practice’s projects at Old Parkland in Dallas, US, will be published this autumn by Triglyph Books.

01982 553312; www.craighamiltonarchitects.com

Donald Insall Associates

This leading architectural practice, founded in 1958 by Sir Donald Insall and now headed by Dorian Proudfoot, specialises in the care, repair and adaptation of historic buildings and the design of new buildings on sensitive sites. B-Corp certified and 95% employee-owned, the London-based practice has seven studios across the UK and won 22 awards in 2025 alone. Current and recent projects include the restoration of the roof at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, the transformation of the John Rylands Library in Manchester and the restoration of a listed family home in Bloomsbury, WC1. The practice has also undertaken intricate upgrade works to the medieval timber-frame buildings of The Lord Leycester, Warwick, Warwickshire, and its work on the 18th-century equestrian buildings at Raby Castle, Co Durham, has been honoured with The Georgian Group Award 2025 for reuse of a Georgian building.

020–7245 9888; www.dia.co.uk

Fleming Architects & Partners

Headed by Christian Fleming, this Cotswolds-based practice of 20 specialises in new-build houses and extensions, plus the renovation of historic houses, across the UK and, increasingly, in Europe. Elegant proportion and authentic detailing are hallmarks of Mr Fleming’s style, as is a sense of calm and modern comfort. The practice has recently completed a new house in the Cotswolds and another distinguished by flintwork and decorative brickwork.

01451 861044; www.flemingarchitects.co.uk

Francis Terry and Associates

Essex-based Francis Terry is admired for designing new country houses in the Classical style, such as Woodford Hill Farm in Northamptonshire.

He is also renowned for his work on historic buildings, having recently redesigned the new Tapestry Drawing Room at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, which last year won the Georgian Group Award for the Restoration of a Georgian Interior, as well as the Historic Houses Restoration Award.

01206 580528; www.ftanda.co.uk

Giles Quarme Architects

Directors Giles Quarme and Natasha Brown run a London practice known for sensitive work on historic buildings and for traditional new houses. Their work at Newnham Paddox in Warwickshire, one of the oldest of English country seats (‘Novelty with age’, March 13, 2024), won the Georgian Group 2025 award for work ‘in the spirit of the Georgian Era’. The practice is currently designing new Classical wings for a Palladian villa and has recently completed the restoration of a 15th-century stone manor house in the Cotswolds, including a new pool house and outbuildings.

020–7582 0748; www.quarme.co.uk

GRAS

Specialists in the conservation and sustainable reuse of historic buildings across the UK and Ireland for nearly 50 years, Edinburgh-based GRAS recently received an award from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) for the sensitive conservation of the 19th-century Kinloch Lodge in Sutherland.

Now headed by Gunnar Groves-Raines, the practice also enjoys a reputation for its progressive new houses, interior design, objects and furniture. Current projects include the conversion of a rural Scottish sporting lodge into a five-star retreat hotel, several traditional farm-steading redevelopments in Perthshire and the transformation of the listed Brown’s engineering works in Leith, Edinburgh, into a collabor-ative space for food, drink and the Arts.

0131–467 7777; www.gras.co

Hoare, Ridge & Morris

This Suffolk-based creative team works across the UK, blending environmental sensitivity with traditional design. Best known for its work on listed buildings and country houses, the award-winning practice, which was founded in 2012, also undertakes masterplanning, gardens and furniture design. Together with residential work in London and the country, current projects encompass country pubs, art spaces and a recording studio. The practice is the recent winner of a national LABC award with East Suffolk Council for the Best Partnership with a Local Authority Building Control Team for more than a decade of collaboration on sensitive historic restorations and com-plex listed-building conversions.

01728 688747; www.hrma.co.uk

Ian Adam-Smith Architects

English country-house specialist Ian Adam-Smith, his son, Mungo, and their team concen-trate primarily on private houses and estates across London and the South-East.

The West Sussex practice has taken on notable houses by Lutyens and Voysey and has a particular skill in creating high-specification new buildings, rich in architectural detail, that appear to have evolved over the centuries. Current projects include estates across the South Downs and Hampshire, which include gate lodges, cottages, model farm buildings, equestrian facilities and walled gardens, in addition to the houses. Other work includes a new-build on the south coast and the refurbishment and extension of a 1730s home in Surrey, complete with Gertrude Jekyll garden.

01428 644644; www.ianadam-smith.co.uk

John Simpson Architects

This year’s recipient of the prestigious Driehaus Prize in traditional and classical architecture, Prof John Simpson is a favourite of The King for his work at the Poundbury development in Dorset and the redevelopment of the Queen’s Galleries (now The King’s Galleries). He is known for his residential and institutional work and is a recent winner of the RIBA London Award for work at the Royal College of Music in Kensington, SW7. His London-based practice undertakes projects worldwide, currently including a substantial development at Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France, Warwick House by St James’s Palace, SW1, and a large country house in Hungary.

020–7405 1285;

www.johnsimpsonarchitects.com

Johnston Cave Associates

For more than 40 years, this practice has achieved recognition for its sensitive design of substantial buildings in established settings, as well as the integration of new ideas and modern services into old country houses. Working from Oxford and London bases in all regions of the UK, including London, as well as internationally in France and the US, projects focus mainly on private residences. Current work includes a Grade II*-listed manor house in Oxfordshire dating back to Norman times, a listed house from the Restoration period in Berkshire, a Grade II*-listed 18th-century townhouse in London and an important new house in Northern Ireland.

01865 865165; www.johnstoncave.com

Marc Deaves Architect

Marc Deaves is a London-based architect and adviser on historic and listed buildings, focusing on the Cotswolds and Home Counties. He is particularly adept at the sympathetic restoration of country houses and in making them energy efficient and comfort-able for modern living. His projects include the restoration of Stowell Park, a Grade II*-listed mansion in Gloucestershire with Jacobean origins, adapting a redundant area to make it suitable for a young family, as well as the refurbishment of a 15th-century donjon (tower house) in France and the conversion of a 19th- century model farm courtyard in Gloucestershire into a small housing development.

07970 458025; www.marcdeaves.com

Peregrine Bryant Architects

Recognised for its sensitive and sustainable approach to the conservation and adaptation of historical buildings, this London practice is headed by directors Paul Chatham, James Hall and Laura Morgante, with founder Peregrine Bryant acting as a consultant. Projects include the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London SW3, where the team completed the adaptation of Sir John Soane’s Grade II*-listed Stable Block to create a new museum, together with the Stable Yard Visitor Centre. The practice received two RIBA Awards in 2025 for the restoration of the Handel Hen-drix museum in Mayfair, W1.

020–7384 2111; www.peregrine-bryant.co.uk

Philip Hughes Associates

Philip Hughes established his surveying and architectural practice in 1982, specialising in the repair and conservation of historic buildings; he counts private individuals, the National Trust and English Heritage among his clients. The Somerset firm’s major repair and renovation project at Stepleton House in Dorset was highly commended in the Georgian Group Awards 2025.

Repairs are under way to the stone staircases at the National Trust’s Montacute House in Somerset to allow public access to upper floors and the spectacular Long Gallery, which has been closed for more than two years. Other ongoing projects include several privately owned country houses in the South and South-West, as well as repairs to garden and parkland structures, grottos, granaries and stables.

01963 824240; www.pha-building-conservation.co.uk

Ptolemy Dean

Historic-building conservationist, author and television presenter Ptolemy Dean is the 19th Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, a post that was once held by Sir Christopher Wren. His practice is known for its respect and care for ancient buildings and the sensitive design of new ones, including work on the buildings of the Aldourie estate on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland. At Westminster Abbey, a new building is currently being constructed on the site of the medieval Great Sacristy, which was destroyed in the 18th century, and detailed plans are under way for a consented addition to the Christ Church Library, Oxford.

The practice, based in London, is also working on proposals to replace a modern breeze block and corrugated shed in the grounds of a Grade II*-listed house in East Sussex, a building he describes as ‘a far greater planning challenge’ than the previously mentioned projects combined.

020–7378 7714; www.ptolemydean.co.uk

Quinlan Terry Architects

Led by partners Quinlan Terry and Roger Barrell, this renowned Essex practice is recog- nised for the design of new, historically accurate residential and public buildings, as well as careful restoration and adaptation of a broad range of residential, ecclesiastical and com-mercial historic structures. Works include the restoration of the Temple of Venus at West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire. Projects this year include residential and commercial projects in Oxfordshire and further afield, including in the US. Mr Terry is the recipient of the Traditional Architecture Group Lifetime Achievement Award 2025.

01206 323186; www.qtarchitects.com

Russell Taylor Architects

A well-respected expert on traditional architecture, Russell Taylor is renowned for his mastery of detail in designs ranging from houses, orangeries and garden pavilions to chimneypieces and furniture. This small, friendly London practice celebrated its 20th anniversary in July 2025, which Mr Taylor describes as marking ‘two decades of joyous collaboration creating stylish homes with wonderful clients, dedicated professionals and talented craftspeople’.

020–7261 1984; www.rtarchitects.co.uk

Simon Morray-Jones

Well known for the passionate conservation of historic properties in Bath, where the practice is based, this firm has wide-ranging experience in interiors, conservation and new-build work, including at Babington House in Somerset. Recent projects include the refurbishment of a substantial Arts-and-Crafts house in Bath, a listed building in Somerset and a new contemporary house in the Cotswolds; ongoing work includes the extension and interiors of a Crown Estate Nash villa in Regent’s Park, London, the repair and creative reuse of a listed former inn in Somerset and the refurbishment and extension of a barn in a historic Cotswold village.

01225 787900; www.sm-j.com

Smallwood Architects

This practice has a long-standing reputation for the design and delivery of medium- to large-scale country and townhouses, sensitive alterations to historic buildings, equestrian architecture and masterplanning of large country estates.

With offices in London and the West Country, Smallwood operates across the UK, Ireland and beyond, often on long-term collaborations designing multiple houses for different members of the same family over time. Recent projects include a substantial country estate in Kent, including a new main house, swimming pool and ancillary buildings, as well as the refurbishment of a Grade I-listed property in central London and projects in the Middle East.

020–7376 5744; www.smallwoodarchitects.co.uk

SPASE

This Dorset-based practice of architects and surveyors specialises in the sensitive evo-lution of historic places. Recent works include those for the Crown Estate, a Grade I-listed Jacobean estate in the New Forest and the decarbonisation and alteration of a significant listed estate in Dorset. SPASE has a national reputation for environmentally progressive solutions in heritage settings, exemplified by the pioneering and award-winning net-zero transformation of Grade I-listed Tudor manor house Athelhampton in Dorset.

01305 301302; www.spase.co.uk

Stuart Martin Architects

Based in Dorset, this practice was founded by Stuart Martin in 1996. It is known for sympathetic conservation work and, more recently, for one-off houses in the Classical tradition. In 2025, the practice achieved planning permission for a new country house in the vernacular tradition of the Berkshire Downs, which will achieve Passivhaus standards of energy efficiency.

01935 83543; www.stuartmartinarchitects.com

Tom Turner Architects

Based in East Sussex, Tom Turner Architects specialises in the design of timeless country houses and the sensitive restoration of historic buildings. Drawing inspiration from the traditions of English architecture, from vernacular farm buildings to refined Georgian houses, the practice is known for combining elegant simplicity with a deep respect for place, craft and history. Current projects include the remodelling and extension of a historic home on the edge of the South Downs, as well as a pool house and loggia extension at a listed property in London.

A finalist in the creative conservation category of the BD Architect of the Year Awards 2025, the practice received a commendation from the Traditional Architecture Group in 2025 for an extension to a 17th-century listed farmhouse.

01273 044795; www.tomturnerarchitects.com

Yiangou Architects

For more than 40 years, this Cotswold-based practice has been designing new country houses and restoring listed buildings. Recent projects include the transformation of a Victorian villa on the banks of the River Test in Hampshire into a comfortable lodge-style property more than twice the size of its 19th-century incarnation, including a new wellbeing centre and thatched fishing hut, and a new Classical country house on an estate near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

01285 888150; www.yiangou.com

The 2026 Country Life Top 100 originally appeared in March 11, 2026 issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.

Country Life Top 100 picture credits: Geoffrey Preston; Meg Boscawen; Jay Davey Bespoke Willows; Studio Squire; Christopher Horwood: Clunie Fretton: Simon Brown: Alice Whitby: Eric Piasecki: James McDonald: Jason Ingram: Alister Thorpe: Jake Eastham: Milo Brown: Harry Page

In 1986, Alvilde Lees-Milne wrote The Englishman's Room, featuring photographs by Derry Moore of various artistic, literary and theatrical luminaries of the day, including Hardy Amies, Teddy Millington-Drake and Gavin Stamp. Four decades later, the spaces in which they posed look as freshly relevant to the early 21st century as they did to the late 20th. Back then, tastes in interior design moved at a more glacial pace than they do today. Choices of furniture, fabric brands and paint colours were much more limited; there were no websites, Instagram or Pinterest and fewer than half a dozen interiors magazines, compared with well over 20 today.

[LISTEN: Giles Kime on how the Top 100 is put together]

With this proliferation of ever-evolving choice there emerged a restless emphasis on trends, a concept that had previously been the preserve of the fashion industry. Of course, there had been twists and turns in prevailing taste, as demonstrated by the cartoonist and architectural historian Osbert Lancaster in his book Homes Sweet Homes published in 1939, illustrated with his caricatures of interior-design styles, from Hollywood Regency to Stockbroker Tudor. It was not until the 1990s that emerging interior-design styles were referred to in the press as Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter, as fashion collections are.

It’s a shift that has encouraged an unhealthy sense of transience in a sphere where longevity should be a priority, rather than whims of fad and fashion. Encouraging consumers to believe that blue is the new black (or vice versa) and that certain styles are ‘in’ and others ‘out’ is at odds with the vital new emphasis on sustainable, long-lasting interiors. It might serve the balance sheets of manufacturers and retailers, but not those of the planet. Moreover, by anyone’s estimation, it’s also pretty fatuous.

This week, we publish our ninth list of the 100 architects, interior designers, garden designers and craftspeople we believe should be considered by anyone embarking on a building or restoration project.

They are practitioners who, regardless of their aesthetic sensibilities, have an evolved approach to their work driven by their experiences and instincts — and those of their clients — rather than by trends. In a digital world where we are subjected to an almost infinite array of influences, it’s easy to allow one’s judgements to fly with the wind. However, we hope that the examples of their work in this week’s issue demonstrate how a considered approach can create houses that are a triumph of timelessness, substance and longevity over throwaway style.

The Country Life Top 100 appears in the March 12, 2025 issue of Country Life; the full list will be live online on Friday, March 14.

For the past eight years, the Country Life Top 100 has been the essential list when it comes to finding the best architects, builders, interior and garden designers in the UK. The list is the brainchild of our Interiors Editor Giles Kime, who has used his decades of experience to showcase two of our nation’s great talents — architecture and design.

Giles joins James on the podcast for a second time, becoming the first returning guest, to discuss the history of the Top 100, what it takes to be included, who chooses what and, most importantly, why a list such as this one matters.

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Country Life has had a rich tradition of promoting and maintaining our built heritage, dating from the magazine’s inception in 1897, when we were early champions of now-legendary names such as Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. As Giles points out, the Top 100 is more than just a directory, it’s a list designed to inspire and elevate the next generation of artisans and craftspeople. Perhaps someone in our list will be the next Edwin Lutyens or Gertrude Jekyll?

While a lot has changed between 1897 and now (materials, sustainability implications, styles), one thing will always remain, says Giles, and that is timelessness. Not to be confused with ‘tradition’, Giles adds that ‘what is exciting about the best houses being built or restored today is that, increasingly, they combine desirable qualities both from the past and the present’. It’s that principle that has guided the best country house design and, by extension, those included on our list.

By beginning with functionality, with things that work for people in terms of comfort and practicality, timeless design grows outwards into a style and approach that is less likely to date. Timelessness is creating and restoring buildings ‘with a capacity to evolve as needs change’. You can find the Country Life Top 100 in the magazine on March 6, 2024, or on the website.

Episode Credits

Host: James Fisher Guest: Giles Kime Producer and editor: Toby Keel Music: JuliusH via Pixabay