Build your dream house with Country Life
A new series in Country life starts on September 1 which will inspire country house owners to completely re-imagine their property with expert help

Following the success of Dream Acres last year, Country Life is launching Dream House, a seven-part series starting next week (September 1) in which Architectural Editor John Goodall and conservation architect Ptolemy Dean will demystify the architecture of the English country house, and provide readers with ideas about the ways their own homes might be improved. Seven figures from the world of architecture have each been commissioned, with a free rein in terms of building regulations, to redesign a house, from Classical villas to derelict farmhouses.
They are historic-building specialist Hugh Petter (September 1), progressive Classical design specialist Craig Hamilton (September 8), conservation and environmental specialist Jenny Humphreys (September 15), contextual specialist James Gorst (September 22), conservation architect Jane Kennedy (September 29), trainee architect Charles Page (October 6) and acclaimed surveyor Charles Morris (October 13).
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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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British watchmakers have excelled themselves in recent months — releasing bright and beautiful timepieces that you'll want on your wrist through summer, and beyond.
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Simon Jenkins: 50 years of saving Britain's buildings, from triumphs and disasters to the great country house we bought for £1
In 1975, a new organisation was set up with the express aim of saving Britain's most beautiful and historic buildings from the wrecking ball. How has SAVE fared in the 50 years since then far? Simon Jenkins — who was involved as a trustee right from the very start — looks back on half a century of successes... and one or two painful failures.