Art underfoot: How Artorius Faber brought to life the stone floor of Country Life's stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

George Saumarez Smith’s design for the floor of Country Life's stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been brought to life by Artorius Faber.

The Country Life stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The floor of the The Country Life stand at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show pairs Crawford limestone hexagons with Taddington limestone triangles.
(Image credit: Artorius Faber / Country Life / George Saumarez Smith)

Stone floors added a spectacular dimension to many formal 18th-century rooms, creating a mix of drama and luxury that set the tone for the rest of the building. For Country Life's Garden Lover's Library at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, George Saumarez Smith of ADAM Architecture has married hexagons of hard blue-black Crawford limestone from southern Ireland with triangles of grey-cream Taddington limestone from Derbyshire to create a shrinking star design.

The Country Life stand at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The striking design of the Artorius Faber floor stands out in George Saumarez Smith’s design for the Garden Lover’s Library.

(Image credit: Artorius Faber / Country Life / George Saumarez Smith)

Both have a natural affinity with classic architecture and have demonstrated the joy of sourcing materials from the British Isles, as well as eloquently expressing the transformative impact of high-quality, beautifully crafted stone.

The floor pairs Crawford limestone hexagons with Taddington limestone triangles Stone is one of the greatest investments that can be made Without a doubt, stone is one of the greatest investments that can be made in both new-build and restoration projects.

Details for the Country Life stand at the Chelsea Flower Show 2026

(Image credit: Artorius Faber / George Saumarez Smith / Country Life - Details for the Country Life stand at the Chelsea Flower Show 2026)

The floor complements the other elements designed by Mr Saumarez Smith for the Garden Lover's Library project, including a fireplace made from mid-grey Morley English limestone and a magnificent pair of obelisks made from Cloam English agglomerate, a naturally formed mix of stones. All the stone will be repurposed after the RHS show.

The pieces have been made in Artorius Faber's workshop at Yeovil in Somerset, where its knowledgeable and highly skilled team works with leading architects and designers in the UK and beyond to create designs that maximise the infinite possibilities of this beautiful and timeless material.

Visit www.artoriusfaber.com to find out more.