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Wealthy Boomers collected blue-chip paintings. Gen Z is opting for collectibles. Who will come up trumps?Handbags, jewellery and luxury vehicles are the aesthetic investments of choice for today’s high-net-worth youth, says a report by Art Basel.
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Are you a curator, a sympathiser or a conscientious objector? Take our Interiors Editor's quiz to discover your design DNAComplete our quiz to uncover the essence of your personal style, urges Giles Kime.
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Sin, deceit, art, education: The secret history of playing cards explainedFrom China, through Persia, India, Europe and now in most of our homes. The humble hearts, clubs, spades and jacks have quite the story to tell.
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Three plants to grow in 2026 that are as delicious as they are pretty, from Siberian chives to 'Turkish warty cabbage'Our grow-your-own expert Mark Diacono has sound advice for those feeling adventurous in the garden in 2026.
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‘The pair drove to Belgium in their Mini and returned with the chair wrapped in duvets’: The mother-and-daughter duo that brought a converted Cotswolds barn back to lifeArabella Youens speaks to Laura Berkeley-Hawkes and her daughter Gracy about working together and breathing life back into a converted Cotswolds barn.
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The 'micro mosaic' at Holkham Hall that uses a fascinating, unusual technique pioneered by the VaticanJohn Goodall speaks to the Earl of Leicester about one of the most unusual and beautiful objects at Holkham Hall in Norfolk.
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Tate-à-tête: The National Gallery’s promise to grow its modern-art collection risks reopening old woundsThe National Gallery's announcement of a new wing and more modern art promises to reignite a historic rivalry with Tate.
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Alan Titchmarsh: Everything you think you know about ivy is probably wrongThe oft-maligned ivy is no parasite, says Alan Titchmarsh: it's a plant that does little harm and much good.
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'You should need little reminding that the 1980s are back': Country Life's interior-design predictions for 2026Eclecticism, coloured appliances and chequerboard floors are all in for 2026, says Country Life's Interiors Editor.
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How an eco-friendly interior designer transformed a former milking parlour into a multi-purpose space in the middle of the PandemicGrace McCloud meets the masterminds behind the transformation of a disused milk parlour in Berkshire.
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Forget Bond, the understated George Smiley is fiction's greatest spyAs a new exhibition in Oxford charts John le Carré’s legacy, Emma Hughes takes a closer look at his most enduring creation, George Smiley.
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Country Life's top 10 garden stories of 2025, from Alan Titchmarsh's hardy annuals to David Beckham's Cotswolds paradiseWe look back at the most-read architecture stories on the Country Life website in 2025.
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‘I wasn’t really sure that I wanted to be a ballet dancer’: The English National Ballet's prima ballerina on playing Clara in The Nutcracker and her consuming passionsLotte Brundle meets Ivana Bueno, who is dancing the role of Clara in The Nutcracker this year at the London Coliseum.
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The policeman turned goat-herder turned beautician, whose goats' milk soap became a sensationBeautiful soaps always make a wonderful gift, and that's why the goats' milk soap-maker Nick King is one of our heroes of Christmas.
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How the spirit of Andy Warhol lives on through ChristmasAndy Warhol found Christmas a tricky time, yet threw himself into the festivities and, when he decided to illustrate his series on American myths, he had no doubt he should include the jolly old man in the bright red suit.
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How Britain’s biggest and best country houses are decking the halls (and façades) for ChristmasNo one does Christmas better than Britain's country houses (probably).
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Helmingham Hall: The ancient garden at a medieval hall where the drawbridge is still pulled up every nightHalf a millennium of careful tending at Helmingham Hall in Suffolk — home of Ed and Sophie Tollemache — has given this garden a rare magic, most noticeable in the depths of winter. Tilly Ware paid a visit; photography by Clive Nichols.
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Giles Kime: Cushions, rugs, upholstered stools and sofa blankets are the ingredients of a pleasing new trendAre you going soft, asks Country Life's Interiors Editor, Giles Kime?
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The plants to give for Christmas which will keep flowering for yearsJohn Massey of Ashwood Nurseries grows thousands of Christmas plants each year — making him one of our Christmas heroes. Here are his tips for the best ones to give.
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A gift for every interest — and every deadline: The best coffee-table books to give at ChristmasAmie Elizabeth White rounds up some of the best coffee-table books of 2025.
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Has the secret of Vermeer’s most enigmatic masterpiece finally been revealed? A British art historian’s controversial claim to have uncovered the true identity of 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'Andrew Graham-Dixon talks to Carla Passino about Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' — an iconic example of Dutch Golden Age art and one of the most famous paintings in the world.
