Gardens & Interiors
The finest houses, gardens and interiors in Britain, and how to create the English country house look in your home, with advice from top experts.
-

‘Each one is different depending on what mood I’m in, how I'm feeling and how my energy is’ — meet the carver behind Westminster Hall's angel statues
Bespoke woodcarver William Barsley makes unique scale replicas of the angels that gaze over Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the palace of Westminster.
By Lotte Brundle Published
-

Why don't more of us live in brightly coloured homes?
It's not often that you see a home sporting the colour palette that you'd get if you hired a four-year old as your interior designer. But why not? The Blue House in Bethnal Green asks this and many more questions.
By Toby Keel Published
-

How common are you according to Nicky Haslam? Take our quiz
Today's quiz takes a detailed look at Nicky Haslam's annual list of things he finds common, and sells on a Christmas tea towel for £50.
By Country Life Published
-

When it comes to making the perfect garden tool, the past has all the answers
Mary Keen visits Garden & Wood, the mecca for dedicated gardeners who prefer using tools made in the 1940s
By Mary Keen Published
-

Exclusive: The King's remarkable resurrection of the gardens and parkland at Sandringham
The King took over the running of the 21,000-acre Sandringham estate in 2017 — and in the last three years has transformed it beyond recognition.
By Charles Quest-Ritson Last updated
-

Making space in a Georgian terraced Chelsea cottage
Guy Goodfellow removed an internal wall to transform the sitting room of this Georgian terrace.
By Arabella Youens Published
-

'Gems of enflamed transparencies, of bottomless blues, of congealed opals': Why glass was perfect for the elemental experimentalism of Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau masters such as Louis Comfort Tiffany and Émile Gallé turned the most fragile of materials into iridescent masterpieces that shimmered like seashells or glittered like Byzantine mosaics.
By Matthew Dennison Published
-

Moths and memories of the Russian Revolution: Why it's worth saving that tired old rug
Don’t consign that faded and tatty rug you inherited to the skip, warns Catriona Gray. A specialist repairer can work miracles on even the most unloved pieces
By Catriona Gray Published
-

'Love, desire, faith, passion, intimacy, God, spiritual consciousness, curiosity and adventure': The world of Stanley Spencer, a very English visionary
Stanley Spencer’s talent for seeing the spiritual in the everyday, his stirring sense for the wonder of Nature and his love for the landscapes of Berkshire and Suffolk shaped his art, as Matthew Dennison reveals.
By Matthew Dennison Published
-

What a report on the spending of female billionaires tells us about the future of museum collections
Between 2015 and 2024, the number of female billionaires grew from 190 to 344. Could this be good news for the art world?
By Athena Published
-

How one family went about creating a welcoming kitchen in one of England's neo-Palladian houses
‘We were nervous about creating a kitchen in such a grand room.'
By Arabella Youens Published
-

Cheaper to steal than to buy: Napoleon's brooch sells for £4.4 million – 17 times its estimate
Napoleon's one-of-a-kind brooch went under the hammer and vastly outstripped its pre-sale estimate.
By Kim Parker Last updated
-

Items from the collection of Lady Glenconner are going under the hammer, including a nine-carat gold Cartier box gifted to her by Elizabeth II
‘I have had such great pleasure living with these wonderful objects, each telling their own fascinating story.’
By Julie Harding Published
-

A painting owned by Edward Guinness is on display next to a near identical version at Kenwood House — but which one is the real Vermeer?
A mini exhibition at Kenwood House allows viewers to ‘to practise their own connoisseurship’.
By Michael Prodger Published
-

‘So many of us look at the world through our screens and forget to pay attention to the world outside’: Katy Hessel on the world’s great female artists, why free entry to museums matters and her consuming passions
The author of ‘The Story of Art Without Men’ speaks to Lotte Brundle about the dangers of AI, how she fell in love with the art world and why it’s okay that her favourite painting is by a male artist.
By Lotte Brundle Published
-

'My family wore wool at a time when everyone else had cast it off in favour of manmade fabrics': The knitwear pioneer who is one of David Beckham's countryside champions
Julie Harding speaks to Rachel Carvell-Spedding the founder of British knitwear brand Navygrey, and one of David Beckham's countryside champions.
By Julie Harding Published
-

'The King of Hell was fat from gorging on souls and he expelled some more from his bowels': The many guises of the Devil Antiquity to present day
Taking as many guises as his names, the Prince of Lies turned at times into a man-devouring ogre, a mutant medley of claws, horns and wings, or the brooding rebel that lit the imagination of Romantic painters.
By Carla Passino Published
-

'Seeing the work that people are doing all around the world has given me hope for the future': The young naturalist who is one of David Beckham's countryside champions
Julie Harding speaks to Ramandeep Nijjar, a young naturalist who has made an impact on the world even before finishing university, and one of David Beckham's countryside champions.
By Julie Harding Published
-

A portrait featuring a string of pearls stolen in one of Britain’s most notorious jewellery heists is going under the hammer
A portrait by Philip de László features a headline-making pearl necklace that was stolen, recovered and stolen again — and it's coming up for auction this week.
By Kim Parker Published
-

Poppy Okotcha, the model turned gardener who is one of David Beckham's countryside champions
Poppy Okotcha, the 29-year-old ecological community grower, garden content creator, author — and also one of David Beckham's countryside champions — speaks to Julie Harding.
By Julie Harding Published
-

‘In my twenties I was asked by a newspaper to test out an orgasm machine. I said, "Absolutely"’: Elizabeth Day on her early career in journalism and consuming passions
The author and journalist chats to Lotte Brundle.
By Lotte Brundle Published


